If some people are too stupid to deserve to vote... (poll, Obama)

[Phil75230]

..then shouldn’t we say that only those with Masters Degrees should have the right to vote?

Or at the very least a Masters for national elections, and Bachelors for state elections, Associates degree for county elections and a high school diploma for municipal elections? (plus, any global federal government that may come about in the future would require a Doctorate to vote for global office).

Just a thought.

[JimRom]

I'd prefer to see a dozen blue collar workers with common sense at the polling booth than an individual professor without enough common sense to tie his shoes...

[Futurist110]

Originally Posted by JimRom

I'd prefer to see a dozen blue collar workers with common sense at the polling booth than an individual professor without enough common sense to tie his shoes...

^

This, pretty much.

[Egbert]

Originally Posted by Phil75230

..then shouldn’t we say that only those with Masters Degrees should have the right to vote?

Or at the very least a Masters for national elections, and Bachelors for state elections, Associates degree for county elections and a high school diploma for municipal elections? (plus, any global federal government that may come about in the future would require a Doctorate to vote for global office).

Just a thought.

That probably won't fly because, most people I have seen complain about people being too stupid to vote are conservative and any rightwinger who has seen an exit poll knows there is no way in hell they would win an election if only people with post-graduate degrees could vote.

[Trucker7]

Who said that people without college degrees are stupid? According to a Mensa member survey:
Demographics - American Mensa, Ltd.

American Mensan facts
53,414 members responded to the questionnaire from which these questions were culled.
32,402 have college degrees.

This leaves 21,012 members (39.3%) without a college degree.

In the meantime...

Obama Claims He's Visited 57 States - YouTube

[freightshaker]

You are confusing education with intelligence. There is a difference.

[Tymberwulf]

Originally Posted by Phil75230

..then shouldn’t we say that only those with Masters Degrees should have the right to vote?

Or at the very least a Masters for national elections, and Bachelors for state elections, Associates degree for county elections and a high school diploma for municipal elections? (plus, any global federal government that may come about in the future would require a Doctorate to vote for global office).

Just a thought.

Here is a thought, how about we limit voting to those who actually have something to lose when it comes to making decisions as opposed to letting people vote who only have something to gain.

[BigDGeek]

Dumbest idea I've heard all day.

[djacques]

I'm liberal and am appalled by the almost total ignorance of the electorate. I don't think degrees of higher education mean much in this context, but I would support a requirement that everyone has to pass a HS civics exam before registering to vote.

[Phil75230]

Full Disclosure: I did not post that because I actually believe it, only to (1) get responses from others, and (2) to get certain people to think about what they are asking when they express such notions.

I do not...NOT support in any way what I say. Rest assured I support the right to vote for any citizens with age qualifications (with the possible exception of the incarcerated, and even here I'm still wrestling with the issue).

What I don't propose will not work because it confuses education with level of idealism. This has a number of failure points.

If education attainment does equate with any of the following, then the proposal's justification fails

1) Accurate knowledge of the totality of political issues at hand,
2) A proper balance of self-interest and greater societal interest.
3) Increase in empathy, sympathy, etc. for the plight of those of lower socio-economic status - at least sufficient to compel the educated to force the government to do something about the plight of those of lower socio-economic status than themselves.
3) Lack of class snobbery or status jockeying (both in petty, judgmental senses of the phrases)
4) (usually going along with 2 & 3, and probably the result)...Lack of greed and corruption
5) (as a result of 4) Corruption of the degree-granting process (merely paying money automatically grants a degree)
6) Dumbing down the degree requirements in order to equalize the voting power of individuals.

So it is that I do not in any way favor linking voting rights to education attainment.

[Preachiness Alert]

Think about that the next time you say "Stupid people shouldn't be, do, have, __________"