Now is the time for one person, one vote
"The end of law is obedience; the end of education, understanding; the end of revelation, knowledge." ("The Call of the Minaret", Kenneth Craig, 1956)
Under the looming mushroom clouds of war, my life began. You see, I'm a member of that generation, one who served and witnessed brinkmanship along with political assassinations; still yearning to live long enough to experience an extended period of peace not characterized by the muffled drumbeats of economic, social, racial unrest or militaristic conflict.
Open primary elections were once a reality before geography, government, and history classes were "trumped" by a shift in academic focus to science, math, and business education followed by a time when idealistic youth embraced an inspired ecclesiastical-like message: "The times they are a-changing … a time/or every purpose under heaven." Decades later that musical lyric, evolved to become "waiting/or the world to change … so we can bring our neighbors home from war …" Today, instead of bringing "our neighbors home from war," political rhetoric and partisan politics foment division and demagogic discourse fueling a growing pandemic of social discord and war like chaos around the globe. Indeed, history does repeat itself … think of Russia's misadventure in Ukraine, Israel's biblical-like conflict with Palestine, and the resurgence of fascist-like authoritarianism.
As a nation are we sliding down that same slippery slope of the 1860s when both confidence in the rule of law and trust in the power of the ballot box came under attack by self-serving leadership as some type of devilish, evil-enemy of the people?
Just maybe … now is the time to discard a dysfunctional, predominantly gerrymandered Electoral College and legislate a more equitable presidential election system based on the premise of "one person, one vote, where (regardless of social, economic, racial, or partisan affiliation) a clearly defined, democratic majority of individual voters determine the outcome of local, state, and national elections."
Democracy's alarm bell tolls a warning as global events race toward year's end and beyond; like an oft-quoted cliché suggests: "Time and tide wait/or no one."
W. YOUNG
Bonners Ferry