Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
So what country does Eric live in, where he has seen proof of real democracy at work... ?

I remember experiencing a fairly democratic society back in the 1980s, long before I could vote. But nowadays there seems to be little point, although I still vote, just in case...

The idea of some kind of qualification requirement for people to be allowed to work makes sense.

The UK and (I think) the USA has this, although it's quite straightforward - you have to be registered at an address to vote. A lot of people don't want to register at an address for various reasons. In that case they can't vote. Also in the UK, prisoners are not allowed to vote while they are in prison - apparently this breaks some EU law though, so the UK will have to change this law so prisoners can vote.

I read that in the USA Christian protestants are very influential simply because they all register to vote, and they actually make the effort to go and cast a vote, because they are encouraged to, in Church. Since they vote based on Christian values more than anything else, they all tend to vote for whoever is more in favour of certain issues that are important from a Christian perspective.
It may seem silly, but the two acts of 1) registering, 2) actually getting off the sofa to cast your vote and 3) understanding how to fill in the ballot.... weeds out quite a lot of votes/people.

In Sweden, voting, like everything else is based on your personal ID number... so all you need is the creepy number (which everyone has) and then you can vote.

If you first had to answer 10 simple questions about basic political points, then that would probably lose another 75% of eligible voters.

If there was to be some kind of examination, then what kind of stuff should people be asked do you think?
Very interesting information here! Something I'd never have known without getting to stay in Sweden for some time (never been there [yet])

You're right about the religious votes here, Hanna, but I have to add that every major religion seems to be able to summon up this sway.. At least on a local ballot/county/state level, it's pretty obvious on voting day.. [I have no reason to doubt that Prot.'s might get the best turnout, and especially on the West Coast these groups are everywhere.. as in every 3rd city block] .. as an example, all the voting I've ever done from Arizona was from a voting poll set up IN a church. (Denomination of the church I have no idea, I can't keep cultish idiosyncracies straight in my head, but suffice it to say they have a perpendicular cross sticking out the top of the building) .. Personally I think it's just slightly not so great an idea to galvanize political change behind the curtain of the altar, though, mostly because here in the US it's a big thing for us to keep church and state separate. In fact just this morning on the way to my desk I saw a television playing a news program, where Mitt Romney was in some sort of blue-and-white priestly outfit, looking like he was involved in some judeo-christian ritual or rite, while simultaneously giving a speech to the camera and some unseen mass of recipient onlookers behind the lens - I was truly creeped out. I'm intimidated anytime a "leader" or potential "leader" is involved in something religious.. Kind of a rats-under-your-collar Cardinal Richelieu feeling.. ))

But this is a good point in itself.. Part of the reason I vote for democracy over the other evils is because it allows a group of people (a club/group/special interest/company/cult/religion/etc) to field an army (in this sense, a group of voters) and take issue with the standing structures of control.

That said:

OUR VOTING SYSTEM IS A JOKE AND WILL ALWAYS BE UNTIL WE WAKE UP AND DO AWAY WITH THE FOOLISH TWO-PARTY SYSTEM!

Okay, just wanted to get that in there )

Have a good rest of your day ))