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I'm going to be politically incorrect.
People keep saying how important it is that everyone vote, especiallly young people.
That voting is your civic duty.
But maybe, some of you shouldn't vote.
If you do not vote, you are a moron.
Lately there has been a big push to get young people to vote.
Go and register to vote if you are 18 years old.
At some rock concerts, between songs,musicans say things like:
Please participate this year by casting your vote
Mark Brownstein, bassist for a band called The Disco Bisquits and his friend
Andy Bernstein cofounded headcount - a group that registers young people.
If you know either your drivers license number or your last 4 digits of your social number.
We registered over 100.000 people
It is so imperative that his generations' voice is heard.
And they are being heard.
But wait a second. Is all this get out to vote drives a good thing?
What about Puff Daddy's vote or die campaign?
Vote or die baby!
Puff Daddy?
Your friend Kyle told me that you do not understand the importance of voting.
South Park made fun of it.
♪ Vote or die m*therf*cker. You can't run from a 38" go ahead and try ♪
♪ Let your opinion be heard. You got to make a choice. Vote or die ♪
South Park's creators were crtitized for this.
But I think they have a point. (Ok I'll vote)
After all some kids do not know much.
At that concert we asked some newly registred voters some basic questions
Some where knowledgeable.
There are 2 senators from each state, making a total of 100.
The bill of rights are the first ten amendments of the constitution.
But most were not.
Aaah, 51 states in the US.
52?
How many senators are there?
Aah, I'm going with 16.
Aah. I have no idea. 64 or something like that?
50 per state? 5 per state? 7?
Oh no. I wanna say 12. Am i so wrong?
And what is Roe vs Wade?
Roe vs Wade is segregation, maybe?
Was Roe vs Wade where we declared bankruptcy, maybe?
No that was about a black person and a white person.
Most kids we asked did not know.
Roe vs Wayne?
Isn't knowledge important to voting?
Haha. There is a lot of uninformed voters out there.
So maybe they should not vote?
It is an argument that smacks hard against everything we hold dear as Americans.
Democracy is not about taking the most educated portion
the society and having them decide.
But maybe it is their civic duty not to vote, because they do not know anything?
We do not believe it is their civic duy not to vote.
We are out there telling them that is is their civic duty to vote.
Maybe it is not fair to pick on kids at a rock concert.
Let's go to our nation's capital.
Certainly people here will know more. Won't they?
I showed them some pictures.
Everyone knew Obama and McCain, maybe half the people knew who this was.
Tina Fay? Just kidding. It is governor Palin.
But Joe Biden?
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
Finally. - Joe Biden.
You are the first people that knew that. That is pretty amazing around here.
That knew Joe Biden? You are totally pulling my leg?
She and a few others got all the answers right.
Whose that?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
But they were the exceptions.
Few people recognized Superme Court Justice Ginsburg.
Uhm I do not know.
But this Judge.
Judge Judy
Maybe 75% of people can name the vice president.
The publics knowledge of politics is shokingly low.
Economist Brian Caplan argues in his book "The myth of the rational voter"
that people who know little about government ought to stay home on election day.
We always hear that it is our civic duty to vote.
This is much like saying it is our duty to give surgery advice.
We like to think that political issues are much less complicated than brain surgery,
but many of them are pretty hard.
If somebody does not know what he is really talking about,
it really is better that they say that they leave this in wiser hands.
It is so elitist to say that only some people should vote?
Is it elitist to say that only some people should do brain surgery?
The buttom line is if you do not know what you are doing. You are not doing this country a favor by voting
Voting is serious business.
If you care about beeing heard. Please vote
Instead of saying Rock and Vote, maybe they should say Rock or vote?
I'm really starting to doubt myself. Maybe I should not vote?
Good for her. Democracy works best when people educate themselves.
I am relieved when people like her stay home on election day.
But will she?
No, that was a lie. Of course I am going to vote.
Oh well, at least there is time before the next election.
Maybe she will be up to speed by then?