longer.blue

We need to raise the standards for both voting and jury service. These decisions determine who controls the government, who loses their freedom, how our laws are interpreted, and what kind of country our children inherit. Yet we act as if merely reaching a certain age automatically makes someone qualified to make them. If you want to vote or sit on a jury, you should have to demonstrate basic competence. You should understand the Constitution, the structure of government, individual rights, due process, the burden of proof, and the difference between evidence and emotion. You should demonstrate basic reasoning ability, psychological stability, moral character, and the ability to recognize propaganda, bias, and conflicts of interest. These standards must be objective, universal, politically neutral, and freely accessible—not manipulated to favor a race, class, party, or ideology. We require people to pass tests before they can drive a car or practice countless professions. Why would we demand absolutely nothing before giving someone influence over another person’s freedom—or the future of an entire nation? Rights matter. But rights that carry enormous power also carry enormous responsibility. Raise the standards. Educate the population. Test civic competence. Stop pretending every opinion is equally informed simply because every person has one.