First, elected officials don’t want people to vote. Now, a newspaperman doesn’t. Steve Blow’s column in Dallas’ Only Daily Newspaper yesterday was a revelation. I’d say what kind, but I was raised not to talk that way in public.
Blow writes of the Trinity River toll road petition: "That clever appeal absolves you of actually knowing anything about the issues. After all, you’re just supporting democracy!"
This is a bad thing? This is something to mock? Sign the petition or don’t. It’s up to you. Blow is absolutely correct in this. But don’t ever, ever, ever tell an American citizen that voting is not a good idea. I’m not someone who wraps myself in the flag, and I am often disgusted by politicians, commentators and the like who do. But this is one time I will. Yes, it’s inconvenient to have a referendum on this. Yes, it’s going to delay the project. And you know what? It doesn’t matter one damned bit. It’s our right. It’s what all those people have died for, isn’t it? That we can do this — actually have this discussion, have this petition drive, and perhaps even have the election — is what this country is all about. It’s our reason for being, what we hold on to when everything else gets screwed up.
I refer Blow to Theodore Roosevelt: "[T]he ‘initiative and referendum,’ which are so framed that if the legislatures obey the command of some special interest, and obstinately refuse the will of the majority, the majority may step in and legislate directly. No man would say that it was best to conduct all legislation by direct vote of the people — it would mean the loss of deliberation, of patient consideration but, on the other hand, no one whose mental arteries have not long since hardened can doubt that the proposed changes are needed when the legislatures refuse to carry out the will of the people."
