(urth) Urth Digest, Vol 51, Issue 18

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes danldo at gmail.com
Thu Nov 6 13:28:04 PST 2008


On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 1:12 PM, Stephen Case <scase at olivet.edu> wrote:

> In response to the comments on it not being a good idea that everyone
> should vote, this was a main premise in Heinlein's Starship Troopers.  In
> that society, you weren't considered a citizen (and thus allowed to vote)
> unless you had served a tour in the military.


This is often repeated, and NOT true. You had to do a tour of government
service, but it did not have to be military. However, once you volunteered,
you went where they put you, so you could easily wind up in the military
without intending to.

> you weren't allowed to vote-- you weren't considered to have "earned
> the right"-- unless you had served.

It wasn't so much "earning the right," as proving that you were willing
to put society ahead of your own personal concerns. And it extended
beyond voting; you also had to be a "veteran" to hold public office.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
http://www.danehyoakes.com

I once absend-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant
and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and
a bottle of chili sauce. -- T. Pratchett
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