Time to vote around here. Not hard to vote in Oregon and we have virtually non-existent voter fraud.  No one much complains about that around here.  In some states, (think Texas)  they worry about this a lot.  Ironically, the statistics show that Texas has very little voter fraud either. Much ado.

Of course, the “founding fathers” never intended that I should vote.  “Founding Fathers” has sort of the same ring to it as “Our Father in Heaven.”

Of course, the founders were, indeed all men.  Possibly biological fathers.  I’m not sure.  But when they wrote “by the people,” they certainly did not mean all the people.

We must see them in their time and place.  Wealthy, well-read white men.  Property owners.  Some slave-owners among them.

They meant people like them when they wrote “We the people.”  Anything else made no sense.  Educated, landed men.   Certainly not the uneducated, women, or the un-white.   They had the natural assumption of  a narrow educated, self-governing  populace.  Nothing else occurred to them.

Actually, the plan they came up with really only works well with an educated — or at least an informed — constituency.  You just have to know stuff to be able to make democracy work.

You need to be able to read and listen and understand, and think critically to sort through what you’ve read and heard.  Sure helps if you know history and don’t just pick up stuff from the TV. Or listen to people who deify The Founders.  And you’d better get your hands on your original birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID.

As always here in Oregon, my primary election ballot was delivered by mail.  Since I am registered as a particular party member, my ballot just lists candidates of that party so that part is easy.  Now I have to decide on such things as “male and female precinct committee persons,” and Marion County Assessor.  I actually need to research this person, although he is running unopposed.  There is a place to write-in my choice.  I think I’ll just write in myself.  If the assessed value of 1880 goes up any more, I’ll need to move to a less “affluent” neighborhood.