[Mobius]

How does culture come into the picture? Can you elaborate on what you mean?

"Cultural differences" in the sense of differences between separate ethnical groups.

[The E]

I despair.

Mobius, in a democracy, excluding people from the vote should only be done as a very, VERY extreme measure. Anything else, and you create a situation where a sizable minority has no franchise, no involvement in the political process, and as a result, will be treated as second class.

That is something that should never, EVER, be allowed to happen.

[Scotty]

How does culture come into the picture? Can you elaborate on what you mean?

"Cultural differences" in the sense of differences between separate ethnical groups.

It has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with subpar schooling and living conditions.

[Nuclear1]

The two things are connected, and I don't see anything wrong with it that could prevent me from posting here.

Not really.

We require people pass math, history, and science classes to graduate school anyway, why not require a couple of civics education classes as well?

I'm not saying people should be forbidden from voting if they don't pass these classes in school, but just that having such classes available the year most people become eligible to vote might make for a smarter electorate over time.

[Scotty]

Hey gais, just FYI, but in Kansas at least you have to pass a Government or equivalent class in order to graduate.  Can't vouch for anywhere else, and it hasn't really helped much here.

[TopAce]

Is this "Government" class about political views or Congressional/presidential powers?

[Scotty]

Is this "Government" class about political views or Congressional/presidential powers?

There shouldn't be a 'class' about political views, the concept is too open to abuse.  The way a government works should be sufficient.  Almost anything more than that risks turning into an indoctrination class, for all intents and purposes.

[Mobius]

I despair.

Mobius, in a democracy, excluding people from the vote should only be done as a very, VERY extreme measure. Anything else, and you create a situation where a sizable minority has no franchise, no involvement in the political process, and as a result, will be treated as second class.

That is something that should never, EVER, be allowed to happen.

Explain me how minorities, in that scenario, would no longer matter.

[Scotty]

I despair.

Mobius, in a democracy, excluding people from the vote should only be done as a very, VERY extreme measure. Anything else, and you create a situation where a sizable minority has no franchise, no involvement in the political process, and as a result, will be treated as second class.

That is something that should never, EVER, be allowed to happen.

Explain me how minorities, in that scenario, would no longer matter.

What?  He's talking about disenfranchisement will create a sizable minority (note the singular there) that has no power to do anything, and will be treated as second class.

EDIT:  Damned light blue color removed.

[Topgun]

I despair.

Mobius, in a democracy, excluding people from the vote should only be done as a very, VERY extreme measure. Anything else, and you create a situation where a sizable minority has no franchise, no involvement in the political process, and as a result, will be treated as second class.

That is something that should never, EVER, be allowed to happen.

which is why republic > democracy
also damn you, I clicked this link thinking it was about a science article about left handed people.

[Mobius]

What?  He's talking about disenfranchisement will create a sizable minority (note the singular there) that has no power to do anything, and will be treated as second class.

EDIT:  Damned light blue color removed.

Explain me how that would happen, then. The way I see it, it could help minorities if they're interested enough on their own rights.

[Topgun]

What?  He's talking about disenfranchisement will create a sizable minority (note the singular there) that has no power to do anything, and will be treated as second class.

EDIT:  Damned light blue color removed.

Explain me how that would happen, then. The way I see it, it could help minorities if they're interested enough on their own rights.

because everyone gets a single vote and majority rules. If the majority votes for a law that makes the minority slaves, the minority has to go with it.

[Mobius]

Doesn't that apply to democracy, too? Where's the difference between that and what me and Nuclear1 said?

[Topgun]

Doesn't that apply to democracy, too? Where's the difference between that and what me and Nuclear1 said?

yes, it is common to all non-republic democracies.

[TopAce]

because everyone gets a single vote and majority rules. If the majority votes for a law that makes the minority slaves, the minority has to go with it.

The Constitution forbids slavery.

[Topgun]

because everyone gets a single vote and majority rules. If the majority votes for a law that makes the minority slaves, the minority has to go with it.

The Constitution forbids slavery.

A constitution is the defining characteristic of a republic, not a pure democracy.

[Scotty]

What?  He's talking about disenfranchisement will create a sizable minority (note the singular there) that has no power to do anything, and will be treated as second class.

EDIT:  Damned light blue color removed.

Explain me how that would happen, then. The way I see it, it could help minorities if they're interested enough on their own rights.

Dissociate the word minorities from ethnicities.  Now reapply it to people who can't vote.  Watch the exact same thing happen as happened with ethnic minorities to their levels of education and standard of living.  The only difference is that now the word "minority" would apply to lower-class/income households.

[Nuke]

us government is a required class in most highschools in the us. somehow i managed to get through high school without taking it. of course knowing how your government works is not enough. you also need to know how political parties work, how to objectively evaluate candidates, etc. really i dont think any level of education or testing is going to make a difference in how people vote. democracy is the wrong type of government if you only want only the tiny fraction of the population who are intellectuals to decide who runs the government. besides leadership is not about smarts, its about balls.

[General Battuta]

By the way guys, you can just put Mobius on your forum ignore list until he stops posting in that font - I've had him and a few other users on ignore for a while now and it makes HLP a lot more enjoyable.

Put them on your ignore lists and you won't see their posts any more.

[Snail]

Why don't the admins just disable the [color] tags?