Re: “Don’t fear rabble, Mr. Tancredo,” Feb. 10 Vincent Carroll column.
I was surprised to see Vincent Carroll’s column attacking my suggestion that a degree of civic literacy should be a requirement for voting. He admonished me to “not fear the rabble.”
The basic problem of civic ignorance and the potential for “elected despots” was well understood by the nation’s Founders. Many of their greatest innovations — checks and balances, the Senate elected by state legislatures, the separation of powers, staggered terms of office, and the independent judiciary — all were seen as instruments to help protect freedom (our “unalienable rights”) from the historical cycle of all previous democracies.
From Greece and Rome to modern times, that cycle always ended in a tyranny of the majority and the death of freedom.
Jefferson, Madison and all of the Founders saw public education as a crucial element in sustaining the Republic. The Northwest Ordinance Act of 1787 required the new territories to set aside land for public schools for the expressed purpose of creating an informed citizenry. They saw education not merely as the rudimentary mastery of the “three-R’s,” but as the transmittal of the civic virtues needed to sustain a free Republic: “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
The failure of our government schools in both missions — literacy and civic virtues — continues to escape the attention of alleged leaders in both political parties.
The requirement of a basic test of civic literacy (the same one we give immigrants) in order to vote would at least send a message that voting is an important responsibility that should not be granted simply because a person can put an “X” in a spot on a ballot. But perhaps Mr. Carroll does, indeed, oppose all voting restrictions — including citizenship and felony convictions because he sees them as examples of overreaching governmental power.
The Constitution necessarily gives enormous powers to government, such as police powers and the power to tax. So, why is it unreasonable to expect and require a basic level of civic knowledge for the people who choose the officials of government who exercise those awesome powers?
Tom Tancredo is a former five-term U.S. congressman. He currently serves as chairman of the Rocky Mountain Foundation.
