www.us-puertoricans.org

The line of voters extended as far as the room would admit, and then went out the door.  It was a “swing state.”  The direction the election would take was uncertain.  The course of events in previous elections made it quite clear that every vote would be of importance.  Some people were uneasy or upset because “the long wait” was keeping them away from their job; others lacked patience, were discouraged, and walked away without voting. Sadly, most were not surprised at what took place. The effort to turn out the Vote was an overwhelming success, but there were not enough voting machines.

Constraints on human action will bring about disadvantages based on systematic forms of inequality and institutionalized hierarchies.     Even had past events been considered from the point of view other than “that all men are created equal,” and it had been admitted - that the degree by which satisfaction of material needs differed was socially well founded and practical.  It is still, however, extremely difficult to account for the levels of inequality that the inter-related elements of a society inadvertently produce – as a result of concentrating power and control in one authority, which more often then not, evolve within the more complex communities.   

The written works of men are awash with logical and virtuous defenses of those inequalities that appear to be free of pretenses, but in reality they are only intended to deceive.  If qualifications par-excellence and duty to society are worthy of special privileges, we may then consider it a fundamental rule that the privileges given over and above what is due, are invariably greater than  the duties justify. The benefits of privilege will not be dictated by a society in accordance with admitted principles of correctness.  Those individuals that have the ability to impose their will on others will share the benefits of privileges amongst themselves.  At such time that natural or acquired knowledge and skills are set apart from power, as in professions that require long academic preparation. their fixed earning or recurring benefits, which would be somewhat higher than the national average, will seem barely enough to live on, when compared to that of the moguls who direct the operations and activities of the emergent corporate hierarchies and global market dynamics, who are the actual motive force of change.    

Societal forces' reasons in defense of laws and customs, which place the individual or group at a disadvantage in relation to others, were more than likely conceived of - after the fact.  The events were brought about by the absence of an adequate power relationship that inheres in known modes of organizations of complex societies.   Sufficient lawful reasons are, as a rule, determined by the power elite to withhold from sight  their acquisitive desires, and by the readiness of the collective citizenry to mask the harsh realities of life from themselves.   Man’s sensation of things and his reflection on space and time are actively engaged in weakening the significance of local as well as national boundaries in a goodly number of areas.   And seeing that “within-nation globalization” carries with it a wide range of effects for almost every aspect  of a person's life    it inevitably requires that he review – with the purpose of implementing changes – the electoral process nation wide.  

When Schwarsenegger (Calif.) sneezes, Bloomberg (NY) says ”gesunheit.”  Each State adopts its own voting requirements for controlling elections.  States further decentralize the process and give administrative responsibilities to locally-based office holders.  However, the electoral process is left open to be gerrymandered or corrupted.  The formation of nationally standardized election procedures would be less complicated to realize than the process of gerrymandering an election district.  

East River North Renewal, Inc.

426-34 East118th Street     New York, NY 10035-4325212-427-3130   

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it