Randy Cohen Wonders If Americans Must Vote
I was amazed when I read Randy Cohen's article in Sunday’s New York Times, “Must You Vote?” Cohen’s article debates that merits behind having uninformed citizens go out and vote. His stance? That should not vote. Simply put, Cohen feels that it is irresponsible to persuade unaware voters to go out and vote. He compares this situation to that of “urg[ing] the unpracticed to use power tools or Rollerblade. Simultaneously.”
While I can agree that uninformed voters can throw an election (Case in point-The election of Mel Carnahan in Missouri in 2000. Mel Carnahan defeated George W. Bush’s former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft. The big flaw? Mel Carnahan had died two weeks prior to Election Day), I am amazed by anyone’s stance that would push for people to not vote. Sure, electing a dead person to office is an irresponsible way to vote.
Cohen continues his article by stating that American’s are “ignorant people”. He supports this fact by showing data that only 18% of American’s can name the U.S. Secretary of State, the British prime minister and the party that controls the U.S. House of Representative. Sure, Americans should know these details but does this define them as ignorant? Should an uneducated or undereducated individual not be allowed to vote due to this limitation? These people are participating in society as much as the next person and definitely should have a say as to who is deciding upon their taxes and laws.
Cohen’s article brought about a flurry of responses. Many of these touched upon the fact that this article was printed on Election Day and wondered the intention behind the message. “The very day that people need a gentle reminder to break from their everyday routine and vote, you give them the easy out.” Others concurred with Cohen and stated that it was “their personal philosophy to not vote in any contests that they didn’t know enough about to make an informed decision.”
The overall theme of the responses was that this article fell short. Many agreed that there are failures in the American education system and the general political knowledge of its citizens, but this article should not tell those people to dodge voting. The message should be “Educate yourself on the issues and candidates, then vote.”
Follow Technorati