Superb writeup Parakram. While I'll confess that I read this piece rather hastily, I must say that I'm simply impressed by your writing prowess and the powers of articulation. Keep it up, its persuasive.
About them voting rights, while I believe that it meets the bare minimum, there's still a long way to go to ensure that every vote is worth its weight in a great democracy. Why isn't Presidential voting day a national holiday, the Luddite gerrymandering rules, and the antiquated electoral college do a major disservice to our great constitution? We should always, always push for a more perfect union, and iron out the kinks that exist in the current archaic rules.
Keep it up. I expect more such gems from you on your blog.
Thank you so much for your feedback; I appreciate it!
I agree that we must still go further; partisan gerrymandering is definitely a key inhibitor to our democratic process. I would personally argue that certain states in our union are not true democracies. For example, in 2018, the Democratic Party won 53% of the popular vote in Wisconsin but only 33% of the seats in the state legislature. Conversely, the Republican Party won 28% of the vote in Hawai'i but only 8% of the state legislative seats in 2020. This doesn't feel right to me, and I'd agree with your diagnosis of the gerrymandering issue, especially at the statewide level.
I also agree with the idea of making election day a holiday, though I would personally like that to be an annual thing to allow for down-ballot elections to be more prominent. I'd still argue the electoral college has its use, though I can see the issue when one party has only won the popular vote once since 1992. It definitely needs reforms, such as the end of the "winner-take-all" system.
We have come a very long way since 1776. However, I completely agree that it doesn't mean we can't go further.
Again, thank you for your very kind words, and I hope you will enjoy my upcoming piece on Brnovich v. DNC.
For someone your age you have an amazing perspective and insights into the political process in the country. Keep writing and better still you should start a podcast. It will be super successful since that's now the new medium for opinions. People are too lazy to read anymore :)
Superb writeup Parakram. While I'll confess that I read this piece rather hastily, I must say that I'm simply impressed by your writing prowess and the powers of articulation. Keep it up, its persuasive.
About them voting rights, while I believe that it meets the bare minimum, there's still a long way to go to ensure that every vote is worth its weight in a great democracy. Why isn't Presidential voting day a national holiday, the Luddite gerrymandering rules, and the antiquated electoral college do a major disservice to our great constitution? We should always, always push for a more perfect union, and iron out the kinks that exist in the current archaic rules.
Keep it up. I expect more such gems from you on your blog.
Thank you so much for your feedback; I appreciate it!
I agree that we must still go further; partisan gerrymandering is definitely a key inhibitor to our democratic process. I would personally argue that certain states in our union are not true democracies. For example, in 2018, the Democratic Party won 53% of the popular vote in Wisconsin but only 33% of the seats in the state legislature. Conversely, the Republican Party won 28% of the vote in Hawai'i but only 8% of the state legislative seats in 2020. This doesn't feel right to me, and I'd agree with your diagnosis of the gerrymandering issue, especially at the statewide level.
I also agree with the idea of making election day a holiday, though I would personally like that to be an annual thing to allow for down-ballot elections to be more prominent. I'd still argue the electoral college has its use, though I can see the issue when one party has only won the popular vote once since 1992. It definitely needs reforms, such as the end of the "winner-take-all" system.
We have come a very long way since 1776. However, I completely agree that it doesn't mean we can't go further.
Again, thank you for your very kind words, and I hope you will enjoy my upcoming piece on Brnovich v. DNC.
For someone your age you have an amazing perspective and insights into the political process in the country. Keep writing and better still you should start a podcast. It will be super successful since that's now the new medium for opinions. People are too lazy to read anymore :)
Balanced, neutral and factual analysis. Easy reading, too!