I have a bit of a
random topic this week. I want to talk about voting. Today was the national Election
Day where the nation decided who they wanted to run the country for the next
four years. I have no idea how many people voted, but like we have talked about
in class, the numbers are probably less than satisfying. People just don’t care
to get involved anymore for reasons that range from an inability to get to their
voting precinct to feeling disenfranchised about the value of their vote. But
to get back to the topic of media, I have heard half-joking, half-serious
discussion to allow people to vote online or even via text message. There are
obvious flaws in this plan. I mean how will the government verify the identity
of each voter and what about those who don’t have access to the internet? It sounds
ridiculous, but could this change be necessary or inevitable in the years to
come?
I am asking all these
questions because who can really know what technology will be like in even the
next ten years. Modern technology is in constant flux, and every few years
previously successful technologies are made obsolete. Just consider each new incarnation
of the iPhone. Each year they come out with a new one that has few differences
to its predecessor, but people still line up to pay hundreds of dollars to get
them.
So in the future we may
not have to get out and go to our voting precincts in order to vote. I mean the
possibilities are limitless. Technology could increase voting rates among all
age groups. Someday the voting rate could even reach 90-100% with new
technologies. The voting booth could come to you! It could pop up on ATM
machines or on your iPad when you go to check out Facebook. As for 2012 and the
years to come, the voting population will have to keep showing up at their
precincts in order to make their voices heard.
Just as a pat on my own
back, I drove an hour back to my home town and cast my vote! This was honestly
my first time to vote, and the drive was well worth it.
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