It’s the “United States of America”
Yes, you read that correctly. People read words and phrases and never think of the meanings of the words. Notice carefully my liberal friends. We were meant to be a loose collection of states.
Each state would set their parameters for functioning. And if you did not like it, you could move to a state you did like.
Simple, clear and concise.
It’s NOT the United Citizens of America
There are those among us that want the President of these United States to be elected by popular vote. But that is NOT the basis for which we formed this nation. A popularity test is no way to run a country. Why even bother with state borders if you like that concept?
The ONLY way to get the smaller of the 13 colonies to go along with forming “a more perfect Union”(notice it does not say perfect) was to insure it was NOT going to be majority rule.
All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.
Thomas Jefferson
A Constitutional Republic
That is what we are and what we must strive to be. The smallest of minorities, the individual, MUST have there rights protected. And those rights are enumerated in the US Constitution
To allow the majority to strip away those rights would be a grave mistake. You would effectively be owned by the majority.
“Being on the side of the majority is often a sign that you are wrong, or the most unlikely to be right.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
You Were Lied To In School
How many times were you told that you lived in a democracy? You do not. You live in a Constitutional Republic.
When you live in a democracy without the protections of a Constitution you are owned by the majority. Whichever side makes the most persuasive arguments wins.
Think about that.
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
― George Carlin
The More People Vote The Better The Outcome
Nothing could be further from the truth. The more people that vote the more average the outcome will be. Guaranteed.
Imagine a society where everyone was required to vote. We are frequently told that “Every Vote Counts”. Yes it might be counted, but it will also lead to worse outcomes and not better.
Voters are not experts on every topic. It’s likely most people cast votes for individuals based on name recognition only . Is that what you want to decide issues that will affect your life, your income, your safety, and your freedom? Name recognition?
Please do not rely on campaign signs, mailers, or newspaper articles to pick your candidate. Go or watch just a few public debates or forums. See what they say, how they say it and if they know what they are talking about.
I voted for individuals currently on the Johns Creek City Council that I was and am still appalled at their arrogance, ignorance and general lack of respect for their constituents..
And I based my vote on their campaign mailers. I’ll never vote blindly for a candidate again.
I hope you do not, either.
How many nation-states have a popularly elected, combined head of government and head of state? Very few. Constitutional monarchies have a hereditary head of state. Parliamentary systems have a head of government who is only directly elected by a small districts/constituency. Boris Johnson’s constituency has a population of 72,000. That is smaller than Johns Creek!
In the parliamentary system, the party or coalition with a majority selects the head of government. In the case of monarchical commonwealths, the monarch appoints a local head of state, the viceroy. The viceroy is not elected by the people. Viceroys are the biggest cronies in world politics. If you think the US POTUS nominating ambassadors is a scam, Google some sitting viceroys.
People can point to countries like France with a popular elected president, but France has a semi-presidential system, with a prime minister managing the cabinet (i.e., head of government). While France’s president is stronger than other systems, most semi-presidential systems have a very weak president. In some cases the only power of the president is to dissolve parliament. In some semi-presidential systems, both the head of government and head of state are selected by the parliament/legislature.
The beauty of the Electoral College is it is ephemeral. It exists only for a few weeks to translate the will of the states to the election of the POTUS/VP, then it disappears like the ballots electing the Pope. This dramatically reduces the potential for fraud and grift, which was likely the intent of the Founders.
Another factor in the federalism and subsidiarity of the EC system was seen in 2000, when the most powerful political entity was a local county canvasing board. Not the House or the Senate, not even a state Governor, but three municipal representatives.
Are there ways to improve the Electoral College? Sure. But we would rue the day we eliminated it.