I also said mail because those minorities often have more hurdles to overcome to vote. I also say make voting day a Sunday.
But what would be the punishment for not voting? (other than internet shame) Yes there are hurtles for minorities and poor people, but 1 the great majority of people that do not vote is because they do not want to, 2 wouldn't you be double punishing those people that wanted but could not vote (if there is a punishment for not voting)?
Yeah, we had that in Argentina. Voting day is on a weekend, everything closes, they even stop the fútbol games, and everybody has to vote. Lots of people who are disgusted by all candidates vote ‘en blanco’, meaning they leave the ballot blank.
In Argentina they charge you something like 60 bucks. But more importantly, it stays on your record. If you don’t pay it they’ll get you when you have to renew your passport or take care of some other public transaction. Even if you pay it, it could come up if you run for office, or possibly even if you apply for a job in the public sector. It is considered a failure of your obligations as a citizen.
What happens if someone can't show up? Let's say I'm in the hospital. Or let's say I'm simply puking my guts out with a horrible stomach flu at home.
There is a procedure you can do to justify not voting, if you meet the requirements. It used to be that you had to do it in person within a certain period of time, I think 60 days, to avoid the fine. You had to do it at a police station, or at a consulate or embassy if you were overseas. When I first came to the US, we were not allowed to vote if we had residence outside the country, but we still had to justify the no-vote, so I had to go to the consulate every election. Things might have changed, maybe now you can do it on-line.
En serio? Because citizens will be less inclined to revolt if they can be convinced that they live under a democratic system which represents them.
I think you overestimate the citizens. They can just as easily be convinced that the military is acting in order to protect the nation’s institutions from corrupt politicians.
You're describing fascism - a form of government where the government decides for you, what is in your best interests. History shows that it is not as successful (in terms of longevity and prevalence) as a faux democracy. As an individual with Latin American sympathies surely you can appreciate that. US ranked #21 - Not a full democracy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
Democratic fascism? LOL. To quote Benito Mussolini, the Father of Fascism: "Democracy is talking itself to death. The people do not know what they want; they do not know what is the best for them. There is too much foolishness, too much lost motion. I have stopped the talk and the nonsense. I am a man of action. Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that some day."
And along came FDR to prove Benny's point, much to Benny's own satisfaction. That it happened contemporaneously was probably a bit of a surprise.
To quote an even more reliable source, the dictionary: "Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy." What you described was, literally, not fascism. Also, what Mussolini said was a straight opinion. There are absolutely no facts in his statement.
Remind me again which leader was killed, then hung upside down at a gas station while people threw rocks at his body.
That we accepted FDR's fascism has little to do with the fact that Italy did not accept Mussolini's. Remind me of which one wrote of the other at the time, "Behold! A fascist!".
I was defining fascism in the context of democracy. Mussolini is implying that his fascist regime gives people what they need because they are too foolish to know what they actually want. This is generally the process that follows after a military coup. Those who take power exercise it without following a process of public consultation.