Ok, I've been reading the stories about voting on ibrattleboro, and I have been doing some thinking.
Recently a friend of mine said that he was HIV+. I did some research. When someone tests poz for HIV he or she usually chooses to see a doctor and have the disease treated. There are many many different drugs that can be used to prevent HIV from becoming full-blown AIDS. One way to discover if the patient has AIDS is by taking a blood test known as the CD4 or T4, or T-cell count test.
What does this have to do with voting, you are probably asking right now? Consider for just a moment that democracy is like the body's immune system. If you have one, then you are protected from groups (viruses) that wish to spread throughout your body (nation) and take you over, or live in you freely without being attacked.
The immune system is effective at preventing viruses from killing you only when a certain level of T4 cells are in the bloodstream. Consider again for just a moment that a T4 cell is a Voter that is working in a democratic system.
The CD4 Cell Test
The lower your CD4 cells, the more likely you are to get sick. Most healthy people have a range of somewhere between 800 and 1,200 T-cells per cubic milliliter of blood, though, again, it varies. Having below 200 CD4 cells gives you an official AIDS diagnosis and puts you at risk of the AIDS-related pneumonia known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). Having below 100 CD4s means even greater vulnerability to a number of other infections.
The Democracy Test
The lower a nation's active Voters, the more likely the country is to be taken over. Most healthy countries have a range of somewhere between 70-80% Voter turnout at an election, though, again, it varies. Having below 50% Voter turnout gives you an official No Democracy diagnosis and puts you at risk of the No Democracy-related disease known as "Infiltration by a non-democratic entity". Having below 30% Voter turnout means even greater vulnerability to a number of other government takeovers.
Sooner or later, one by one, the country will fall to non-democratic entities (hosts) and the prognosis will then be bleak for our nation's democracy to survive. Who will we then turn to for help? Will we be like a nation with AIDS, hopeless? Currently there is no cure for a Western democracy that has had its democratic system taken over. Teaching Civics is only a way to treat symptoms, it doesn't cure the nation's electorate of the disease. Don't look to the government to help you on this one, nor the educational system, nor any state program to educate people.