As a student of this University, I find it utterly ridiculous that a column like “Failure of Diplomacy” could be chosen to represent the voice of our student body.
Mr. Davis, who is not even from the United States, advocates the exact opposite of American values in the name of civic responsibility. Mr. Davis states that every American citizen has a responsibility to vote because our countrymen fought for that right.
The point Davis misses, however, is that our founding fathers fought for the basic right of choice and the ability to exercise that right freely. Most Americans believe that voting is their inherent right, whether they use it or not.
You cannot say someone must vote any more than you can say they must always assert their freedom of speech.
The absence of a vote — whether consciously done or not — still reflects an opinion.
That reflection of political opinion is each person’s right, even when that right inconveniences the state.
What’s more, the idea Davis proposes of qualifying tests for such rights as voting is ridiculous. This leads me to the question: Who, then, in Mr. Davis’ reality, would be an American citizen, everyone who pays taxes or just the people who voted on those taxes?
It is illogical and unconstitutional to think that one can live in a democracy where people are denied our natural rights until proven otherwise by a trivial test.
I truly hope that Mr. Davis’ stance does not reflect that of the greater student body, and that perhaps in the future he will better analyze the spirit of American ideologies before forming an opinion.
 
Kelly Eisworth
Photography junior
 
____
Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at [email protected]