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Should everyone vote? Going out on a limb here, but, I have always been of the (somewhat unpopular) opinion, that not everyone should vote. Some think it is the right of every adult, U.S. citizen. Some think it is an obligation of every adult, U.S. Citizen. True rights and true obligations, come from God, not from documents written by governments made of men. However, dispensing with this technical opinion of mine, I am saying that I do not believe that being an adult, U.S. citizen, should be enough of a qualification to vote. The voting should be a privilege, not a legal right. Actually, I think it might be a privilege already. As far as I know, felons are not supposed to be voting, so it seems to me that if that has been taken from them, we already recognize voting as a revocable privilege. I think there is a reason, that we have a minimum voting age, and I suspect that the reason for this, is because we deem children to have insufficient knowledge and wisdom to take part in deciding policies for the country. Let's face it, children could conceivably vote to have candy bars and soft drinks everyday as a public school provided lunch. If we recognize that children may not be the best mentally equipped people to take part in deciding matters of government, then why does that same concern NOT extend to adults? Does it really make sense, that people with and I.Q. of 40, should vote? Do we really want people, who do not understand or know, history, economics, germ theory etc, deciding matters like what form of government we should have, what manner of economic policies we should employ, or the types of things that the Center for Disease Control should be concerned with? Supposedly rational, educated adults (the people in charge now) don't do that well of a job at these things, so maybe it would not hurt that much, but I prefer not to risk it. I believe there was a time, when only white, male, property owners could vote in this country. While I would not want to go back to that situation, I think in principle, there is wisdom in NOT having a one person, one vote policy. For example, if it comes to the place where the impoverished in this country, significantly outnumber those financially better off, should we not expect that someday, the poor will rise up, and demand that their representatives tax the rich, confiscate their bank accounts, retirements, etc, in order to make the lives of the poor more pleasant? Charity is a good thing, and should be encouraged, but the confiscation of property without an owners permission, is called theft. It would not be all bad, for the government to tax the rich to provide for the poor, after all, there could be a benefit to some in doing that. However, if such things are not done sensibly, then eventually, the rich will no longer be able to pay taxes themselves, and will not be building the businesses that keep people employed. The founders of the constitution, were pretty smart fellows. They understood that people need to be protected from their government. When the people are not familiar with history, and the contents and purposes of the constitution, then they will undo it's benefits eventually, and repeat the mistakes of the past. I am 64 years old, chances are I will not live long enough to see this country unraveled, but my children may. I hope they do not, but it seems to me as if, the U.S. is peculiarly missing from note in Bible prophecy. My suspicion is, that this is because in the future, the U.S. will be a minor player in terms of military might, economic solvency, and social influence in the world. I do not think that there is anything that is to be done to prevent that. I have no reason to really think that it needs to be, or should be prevented. However, I do think that it is a good thing, if citizens do what they can to do good at home and abroad. It is my opinion, that responsible voting is part of that. I also believe that responsible voting, requires responsible voters. Voters should not be only interested in their personal welfare, but in the welfare of their neighbors. By neighbors, I mean everyone other than themselves. When we naturalize a person of foreign birth, to become a U.S. citizen, we expect them to know a few things about what is to be their new country. I just took a test online, of sample questions, the sort of questions asked of those who desire to be U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens, have the right to vote in our elections. Does it make sense, that we allow people of U.S. birth, to vote in elections, who do not possess knowledge that we require of immigrants before we let them vote? Personally, I do not think it does. The test I took, was at http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0104/Could-you-pass-a-US-citizenship-test/Who-signs-bills/ . When I finished, I saw this: I am certainly no genius politically nor historically. I don't think public education was all that good when I was going to school. I suspect though, that it has become much worse, and I have to wonder if our current average citizen, could achieve the 58% percent expected of them on these tests. I think as Christians, we should be able to, but that is just my opinion!

By: Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News U.S. Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (WorthyNews) On January 5, 2016, President Obama announced new gun control measures that are being put into effect that are supposed to help reduce gun violence, especially mass shootings. What you may not realize is that as part of his effort to "reduce gun violence" he is quietly asserting that American citizens who are gun owners are to be denied their citizenship. In paragraph 17 of his speech, President Obama makes a distinction between gun owners and American citizens. While the average person will dismiss this as simply a slip of the tongue, it reflects the attitude of President Obama in this speech, that Americans should not be able to own guns. So we’ve created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects themselves to a background check. That doesn’t make sense. Everybody should have to abide by the same rules. Most Americans and gun owners agree. And that’s what we tried to change three years ago, after 26 Americans -– including 20 children -– were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary. (Bold type and italics mine.) Notice how he makes a distinction between American citizens and gun owners? Again, in paragraph 12 of the same speech, he attempts to deny Americans the right to gun ownership by saying that the Constitution of the United States of America only guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms. Here is a copy of paragraph 12: Now, I want to be absolutely clear at the start -- and I’ve said this over and over again, this also becomes routine, there is a ritual about this whole thing that I have to do -- I believe in the Second Amendment. It’s there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to bear arms. No matter how many times people try to twist my words around -- I taught constitutional law, I know a little about this -- (applause) -- I get it. But I also believe that we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the Second Amendment. As you can see in the highlighted section, (highlighted and italicized by me), President Obama is directly saying that Americans do not have the right to own guns, a.k.a. keep arms. Here is what the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (Bold type mine.) All this, however, is just another step toward the total disarmament of the American people. In the 1990's, when President Obama was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, he stated to John Lott, Jr., that "I don't think people should be able to own guns." While this may not be an attempt to ban private ownership of firearms, it certainly testifies to President Obama's thoughts then and actions now. What about our military? If President Obama wanted to ban ownership of guns, wouldn't he take away their guns as well? Perhaps; however, President Obama knows that he needs military protection in case we ever rise up against him and that he cannot count on it from foreign countries. President Obama is a clear and present danger to the rights of American citizens, including their lives. His actions are treasonous and it is the duty of Christians everywhere to humble themselves before God, seeking his forgiveness of their sins, and supplicating him for the removal of President Obama from power, and the healing of this land. Of that there can be no doubt. Source articles: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/05/remarks-president-common-sense-gun-safety-reform?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email544-text1&utm_campaign=guns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwyn-williams-jr/author-quotes-then-professor-obama-saying-i-dont-believe-people-should