Voting essential to democracy L
1 m convinced the federal
government doesn’t want people to
vote.
Except for some public service
announcements and an occasional
poster encouraging people to vote,
government shows little interest.
Compared with gun legislation,
voter turnout is hardly an issue at
all.
I think the federal government
should be held responsible for low
voter turnout. It’s strange, but the
government shows more interest in
what kind of gun I own than it does
in my participation in the political
process.
I don’t believe in making voting
mandatory. However, a government
that doesn't make it easy for all
eligible voters to be registered and
fails to work hard year-round to
increase voter participation is
acting irresponsibly, in a democ
racy, it is the responsibility of the
individual and ail government
bodies to increase participation.
The government shoufd enlist
the help of candidates for public
office. They are simply voters who
are asking for more responsibility.
Why not give it to them? It is
logical that they be given more
responsibility than the average
citizen.
If I were a candidate for public
office, I would want to represent as
many people as possible. What
greater honor is there for a candi
date in a democratic election than
to be working to increase political
participation while campaigning?
Without voters, government is
nothing. But a government elected
by only a few voters is not represen
tative and therefore not legitimate.
As a citizen in a democracy, my
responsibility is to be a part of the
democracy. If I don’t vote, how can
I claim to be a part of it? Like the
It’s strange, but the government
shows more interest in what kind
of gun I own than it does in my
participation in the political pro
cess.
right to own a gun, the right to vote
is a fundamental right. Lawmakers
work hard to protect that right.
Why don’t lawmakers work equally
hard to get people to vote?
Not voting is as irresponsible as
misusing a gun.
My responsibility as a gun owner
— if I owned one — goes far
beyond simply owning it. And gun
owners know the government has
plenty to say about that. In much
the same way, my responsibility as
an eligible voter goes beyond
simply owning the right to vote. To
be a responsible citizen, I’ve got to
vote.
Wasn’t the Revolutionary War as
much about one’s right to bear arms
as it was about one’s right to be
represented in government? It
seems to me the right to vote goes
right along with the right to own a
gun. Just like in owning a gun, it is
the responsibility of voters to use
their right to vote responsibly.
People who don’t vote are to
blame for the way things arc in
society. The people who actually
“elect” government officials arc the
ones who don’t vote. I don't blame
elected officials for high taxes.
Once elected, they have the right to
exercise their opinion, whether I
like it or not. The nonvoters are to
blame, because they let it happen by
not participating.
Refusing to vote is not an
exercise of freedom. Refusing to
vote flies in the face of freedom. If
gun ownership can be regulated,
why not voter registration? If there
are laws dictating the use and
ownership of guns, why not laws to
prevent the misuse of the right to
vote?
It seems only fair that participa
tion is rewarded in some way.
Perhaps voters should not be taxed
as heavily as nonvoters.
About 26 percent of my pay
check is deducted. Most of that is
income tax. Some people have more
than that taken out. I blame the
amount of taxes I pay on the people
who don’t vote.
As long as more than half of the
electorate refuses to vote, things are
made the way they are not because
of who gets elected but because of
who did not vote. Only in countries
where people have no right to vote
and bear arms are elected officials
most to blame for society’s prob
lems.
Maybe that’s why our elected
officials are so interested in gun
laws — so they won’t be run out of
office with guns.
Shanks It ■ graduate student and a Daily
Nebraskan columnist
Book curves into absurdity l
I’m smarter than you are.
Actually I don’t know for sure if
I’m smarter than you if you’re
Asian or Jewish. But if you’re white
or black, consider it an intellectual
sacrifice on my part for me to be
conversing with you.
You’re welcome.
I always knew I was mentally
superior to the rest of the world,
and now I have scientific proof. i
According to the book, ”7116 Bell
Curve,” written by Charles Murray
and the late Richard Hermstein, IQ <
is inherently determined by race. j
The book explains that on s
average Jews and Asians score the
highest on IQ tests. Whites score i
somewhere behind Jews and i
Asians. The group with the lowest l
score is African-Americans, who I
score about 13 points lower than f
whites. i
Murray and Hermstein also have a
stated the cognitive elite rise to the i
top of the intellectual ladder and c
become our doctors, 'polmciihis, and r
other successful leaders TheyN
maintain that the people who are in *
our “underclass” are there because I
they simply aren’t smart enough to -
succeed in life. Their IQ’s arc a
inferior to the likes of people like a
me.
c
his information, I d
would like to boldly make a i
proposition. I know you will accept e
my ingenious proposition because I s
am, after all, superior to you. I also
am sympathetic to the reason vour p
mental capacities limit your ability r
to think or a similar idea. p
All state and federal financial s
aid and scholarships for college s
should be ultimately given to b
Asians and Jews first. It’s important v
that we — Asians and Jews — be t
given the most opportunity to be
educated since we arc more likely 1
to succeed. t!
Whites and African-Americans,
of course, should not be allowed to s
enter prestigious Ivy League \i
According to the book, “The Bell
Curve, ” written by Charles Murray
2nd the late Richard Herrnstein,
IQ is inherently determined by
race.
alleges because they can’t possibly (
ppreciate the academic challenge a s
chool like Harvard has to offer. I
Following this logic, whites r
hould be able to enroll in state- f
iinded schools like UNL or the
Jniversity of South Dakota. r
iowever, these schools should be 1
unded only after Asian and Jewish f
niversities are satisfied with their c
Hotted funds. After all, it’s only
inderstandable that smarter people “
cscrvc better educational depart- r
nents. f
Since African-Americans are the
dummies,” they ought to be strictly r
imited to trade schools. If they do s
- for some odd reason — desire to c
ttend college, they must only f
ttend community colleges. 1
However, what African-Ameri
ans don't have in the brain 1
epartment they do make up for it a
n their physical capacities. I r
ncourage all African-Americans to 1
ucceed in a sport. \
In 1966, Nobel Prize winning t
hysicist William Shokley had the o
ight idea. He advocated that all c
eople with low IQ’s become
tenlized. Those with high IQ's c
hould donate their sperm to sperm b
anks. This way, the stupid people n
t'ould die off and help humankind /
) become as smart as me. r
Don’t be offended with this idea, n
his is simply Hitler's eugenics r
tieory in action.
Then, logically, the government fi
hould completely abolish any
rclfaie and affirmative action g
holicics We know the people who
re on welfare are those with the
west IQs. By giving these people
money, we are perpetuating the
roblem.
People on welfare obviously are
ot smart and cannot succeed.
Tieir IQs are too low. This is why
coplc get on welfare and never get
ff the program.
Let’s not pretend we can better
inferior” people by giving them
money. Nothing we can do will help
coplc with low IQs.
As far as all those other whiny ^
minorities who want to be treated f
pedal just because of thdr skin
olor, they have got to accent the '
ict that their race is a cerebral c
andicap. f
African-Americans wouldn’t
avejobsifit wasn’t for affirmative li
ction. We all know they aren’t
eally knowledgeable enough to ■1
ave the jobs some of them want. y
Ve should rid ourselves of affirma
ive action because this program is C
nly causing the work world to be
I uttered with incompetent people. '1
I accept my more important g
lace in society with great responsi
ility. 1 know it’s my place, as a A
member of the mentally affluent ,
isian race, to be sympathetic to the 11
eeds of people less fortunate than p
me. I will never stoop so low to take
my superior status for granted. Tl
Just don’t drink in my water .
mu n tain. m
Stock li • Junior education major and a y
ally Nebraakan Cofcanakt |_
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