(Wrote this piece for ABC15 and the comments are getting a little nutty. What say you? Should #sb1070 be put to a vote in November? I say no.)
Most decisions are too important to be left to the people. Wisdom of the crowds? I think not.
This country was not founded by democracy and did not thrive because of democracy, but it sure as hell may be ruined by it. The idea that democracy is the solution to nearly every problem in a civilized country is short-sighted and dangerous.
We live in a republic. We elect leaders to our government with the hope that these people will take the time to become well-informed, gain a better knowledge of the system than the average citizen and understand the process well enough to make decisions on what is best for our city, county, state or country as a whole. We voted them to office because we the system to work.
Slavery was abolished not because of democracy, but because our elected leaders knew it was the right thing to do. Giving minorities and women the right to vote certainly wasn’t a democratic choice, but it was the right one.
Crowds are stupid. Crowds want to be lead. Crowds are what got Arizona into this mess in the first place. If Arizona employers did not eagerly exploit illegal immigrants and hire them with little pay and few benefits, there wouldn’t be any reason for illegal immigrants to come here. None. You think it’s easy sneaking across a border? Leaving your family and everything you’ve ever known to come to a country that will deport you the second the authorities discover it? Of course not. But, because Arizona businesses profit from this illegality, the workers continue to come.
For years, Arizona has been lead by landowners. They buy cheap land, lease it to businesses who employ illegals and walk away, counting their money. These are the people that vote.
Arizona’s likely voters are also highly likely to be elderly and white. This retired group has no stake in the future of this state, as they won’t be around to see it. Many of them moved from elsewhere. They want low taxes, don’t care much about schools and want to be left alone. Do they have the best interests of the state in mind? Nope, just their little section. These are the people that vote.
Thanks to past decisions by the legislature, Arizona is 50th in the country in education funding. We have a poor private school system. We have a high number of under-educated people working jobs that don’t require much thought. These people vote as well.
Arizona’s economy nearly collapsed these past few years, and many homeowners had to walk away from homes they couldn’t afford. They were in over their heads and never knew it. They should have been smarter, but they wanted what was best for them and their family right then. These people vote.
Arizona’s population of LDS members stands around 6%. That’s more than any minority except Hispanics, and they’ve also contributed greatly to anti-gay marriage referendums in California and Arizona. Do they have their best interests at heart? Yes. Arizona’s? Nope. These people vote.
They are certainly informed citizens here. Plenty of righteous business owners, entrepreneurs, smart workers and enterprising freelancers who are nearly as informed as the people they elected to office, but there are too few of them to swing an election. They have jobs that require their time, mouths to feed at home and 401ks to invest in. They hoped their elected leaders would do the job they were put in office to do: make the tough, sometimes unpopular, decisions that will spur this state forward. We need to trust them.
Whether you think #sb1070 is a good idea or poor one, whether it was a political ploy to get the federal government to act or even if it is a bigoted bill voted into to law by a bunch of racist politicians, it should stand.
Putting the bill to a vote is a short-term solution to a much larger problem. If you don’t like it, get off your ass and elect better leaders. That’s a far better long-term choice than any bill.
(Turns out the movement is done. Going to assume my argument swayed them.)
How about a random post?
More from tdhurst
- Apple has lost the magic
- This is not the community you’re looking for
- Truth shouldn’t be a mistake
- The Passion(less) of the IgnitePhx (attendees)
- Membership is earned, not rewarded
Arkayne recommends
- The FruitGuys – Changing the World One Apple at a Time (Tomas Carrillo)
- Latinos and males suffering the worst in recession (Blogged Down by The Economy)
- Some Thoughts on the Future of Gangplank (Derek Neighbors)
{ 1 comment }
Eliterate.
Better leaders? Too much Camelot-think for me here. Might as well stop electing congress people 535 sounds like a crowd to me. What we need is for people to get off their asses and elect better presidents!
Oh wait! there's like a bazillion countries! We need to elect better UN officials! Where's a good alien overlord when you need one. He'll know what to do.
Your argument smells of shill cheese.
Keep Arizona's challenge to the Federal govt, but get rid of the constant “without a warrant” provisions.
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