Your Right to Vote – A Brief History
The right to vote in these United States is at once both our greatest privilege and our most important responsibility. For over 200 years brave patriots have shed their blood to support and defend our democracy. Given the importance of the upcoming elections, I would hope that everyone who is eligible to vote will do so. Unfortunately, the U.S. has one of the lowest voter participation levels of any democracy in the world. Perhaps a brief exploration of the long, hard fought struggle toward the universal right to vote will provide a bit of incentive to make it to the ballot box next month.
As some of my readers may know, when this country was formed, only white male property owners had the right to vote. In fact, several colonies even had religious requirements to vote, some of which lasted until 1790! Gradually, over the first half of the 19th century, the requirement of property ownership was abolished. As is often the case, sometimes these restrictions were not lifted without a fight. In 1842, the Dorr war was fought in Rhode Island over this very issue. For his troubles in leading the fight for non-property owners to obtain suffrage, Thomas Dorr was found guilty of treason in 1844 and sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor (although he was pardoned the next year.)
After the civil war, in 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified guaranteeing the right of U.S. citizens to vote without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Tragically, another century would pass before persons of color could fully begin to claim this right. During reconstruction, the idea of a black man voting was intimidating to many both in the north and the south, and downright blasphemous to some. Many schemes were devised to keep blacks from voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests and cumbersome registration requirements. Blacks, of course, were not the only once excluded from the vote. Many western states denied the right to vote to Asian-Americans as well.
Through the 1950s, many southern states retained poll taxes and literacy tests designed to disenfranchise blacks. In Alabama, for example, prospective voters were required to provide written answers to a 20 page test including questions such as: “Name the rights a person has after he has been indicted by a grand jury.” While the Civil Rights Act of 1957 assisted enforcement of voting rights, black voter registration in the south was only increased by around 200,000, a mere fraction of the eligible black population.
In 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. launched a voter registration drive in Selma Alabama. At that time, blacks slightly outnumbered whites in the city, but the voter roles were 99% white. Despite their best efforts, stiff resistance from the racist and segregationist establishment successfully prevented even a single black voter from being added to the rolls.
Dr. King’s heroic work, however, stirred the nation. On January 23, 1965, the 24th Amendment was passed banning the use of the poll tax. Later that year, President Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, eliminating all literacy tests and empowering the federal government to oversee and enforce voting rights as necessary. While many feel that voting rights are still not equal to this day, there is no doubt that the work of Dr. King and the subsequent Voting Rights Act has substantially narrowed the gap between black and white voter registration in the south.
Of course, no discussion of voting rights would be complete without reference to the long struggle for women’s suffrage. The practical start to this fight started in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 when America’s first women’s rights convention took place. Susan B. Anthony and other supporters of women’s suffrage attempted to vote in the 1872 presidential election. As a result, in 1875, the U.S. Supreme Court (Minor v. Happersett) held that women could only vote as a result of legislation or constitutional amendment. Over the next several decades “suffragettes” such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone continued to fight for a woman’s right to vote. Fueled, in part, by the political atmosphere created during World War I, women finally won suffrage. On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified which guaranteed that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This was not the only battle for suffrage influenced by war. At the height of the Vietnam war, on July 1, 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified lowering the voting age to eighteen.
The point of my article this month is simple: Do NOT take your right to vote for granted. Too many great Americans have fought too hard and too long for this valuable right to be wasted. The best way to thank those who have fought for our rights for the last 200 years is to stand up and make sure your vote is counted.
How To Last Longer Before Ejaculating – Two Tips That Will You Get Her MVP Vote While in The Sack
Premature ejaculation is one of the most embarrassing problems that occur with men in the bedroom. When men become extremely aroused it can bring them to the point of no return far quicker than they would like. Now I am quite sure that you already know how frustrating this can be for you and your partner. So in this article we are going to talk about how to last longer before ejaculating while in the sack.
Can PE be permanently reversed? I am here to tell you that any man can learn to delay his ejaculatory reflexes and hold that impending climax at bay until you and your partner is absolutely ready for it. Lets take a look at two simple suggestions that can add valuable minutes to your lovemaking.
1. Recognize the symptoms that precede an orgasm.
Males on average get way more aroused throughout sex but to control your ejaculation, you have got to acknowledge the sensations you feel directly before an orgasm. Knowing this and recognizing it will help you control the amount of stimulation you can take before it results in a climax. When you feel yourself getting too aroused change it up to get control of your emotions.
This feedback will enable you to take control of your actions during sex in order to keep you clear of reaching that point of no return.
2. – Delay an orgasm by setting up physical controls
What I mean by this is to begin things slowly. What you want to do is take a gradual and sensual build-up to sex. Women are like diesel engines in that they take a long time to heat up but when they do they can go for a long time. So take your time to arouse her and in the process it will help your stamina also.
Here is another tip pay close attention to any issues that could be causing you to prematurely ejaculate. Is it too quick of a pace or maybe having too much stress and anxiety maybe the cause. At any rate try to clear your mind and relax your body both before, during and after sex. Doing so will increase stamina and help you connect with your partner.
How Many Non-Voters Are Out There and Why Won’t They Vote?
Having been involved in politics a bit, I have volunteered registering voters to vote. It is a rather thankless job, but someone has to do the grunt work, so I volunteered to assist in this most important effort. I was amazed at the reasons people do not vote and how adamant they were about not voting; almost taking it as a sense of pride. One gentleman told me:
I will not vote, it will only be cancelled out by some stupid person who sits in front of their TV and there are 100s of millions of those and only a few of me – human politics I am not fond of. Also when someone votes they agree in advance to support the Mob’s decision as correct. I disagree, rarely is the carefully steered mob correct.
Although, this statement totally shocked me, I finally understood why people do not vote. They are fed up with things or have become pessimists over time about the entire election process. After many years of considering this, I have a more solid understanding of what they are talking about. Indeed, the mindless masses have surrendered their brains to the media and actually, I tend not follow the mob either, although realize that the synergy to maintain peace and order is very important.
Recently, someone told me they would not vote because they were a Republican and they lived in California and Hilary was going to win the election anyway, he stated there are millions of people voting Democrat and quite a few less voting Republican. True enough I thought, then he stated:
I believe most likely she will be nominated and most likely become our next President. I support whoever is President. I do not necessarily support the Clinton’s on all issues, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to oppose them either. I wish Hilary had some business experience, but her life experience has taken her elsewhere, she is quite accomplished in so many other ways.
That almost sounded like an endorsement, yet he assured me he did not want her as President, but was sure she would become President and he is already psychologically preparing for it. Interesting indeed. Something Serious to Contemplate in 2008.