Vote or Die - Why Eugenics is a Good Thing

  

The right to vote is Constitutionality backed by numerous amendments.  The 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th Amendment all address the issue of suffrage.  In the status quo, voting occurs on the micro level, through mayor election, town hall, golf club presidents, etc, and on the macro level via presidential and mid term elections.  For the United States, being a major playing in international affairs, the decisions as to who represents populations domestically, can have international consequences.  Regardless, the ability to vote, is an essential component of any democracy.

While there are numerous facets and attributes that comprise a democracy, the process of voting is uniquely important.  The concept of voting is a personal commitment/advocacy towards an issue/person/ideology.  Regarding the level of political awareness people contain, I believe that anyone who votes has some level of awareness that connects them to their vote.  I made a comment on Alyssa's blogpost of an example of a very generic stance on an issue.  Even issues that probably aren't part of a politician's platform can be reasons someone votes.  For example, in the 2008 election, certain African Americans arguably voted for Barack Obama simply because he was black.  On the micro-level, they connected to Obama because they believed his position in office would benefit them due to their ability to connect with him via race.  Other people may vote for issues such as environmental and foreign policy or social and economic views.  The thing is, I don't see a clear difference between people voting for someone on race or people voting for someone based upon the candidate's stance on DADT.

Now obviously there is a difference between the two, what I'm arguing is that both are individual reasons to commit to something.  These commitments are the foundation of getting involved in the democratic process.  Voting opens up a forum in which people can promote, discuss, and share their ideals.  Even people who get in and get out, meaning they simply vote and leave, engaged themselves within the democratic system.  The great thing about the United States is the ability to freely promote your own personal beliefs.  While there are "uneducated voters", they have engaged, even on the smallest level, the democratic system.  The potential for ideas to be shared and debated is magnified with a vote.  People are exposed to other people with different or similar ideas and that congregation of people can enhance political awareness.  While people may not know about various aspects of a candidate's platform, they may vote just based upon their social location.

I'm not sure if my argument is coherent or not, but my basic thesis is that uneducated voters aren't bad, in fact, I'm not entirely sure I agree that there is such thing as an uneducated voter, there are simply people who vote for different reasons, be it minuscule or not.  Either way, the concept of voting is a vital component of a democracy and is a form of civic engagement that should be actively promoted.