Have You an ID?

OK, I guess that I am confused about why it would be unconstitutional to have to show an ID when you are voting.

Does that mean it is also unconstitutional to have to show ID when applying for a job? Or getting a driver's license? Or even a passport? (And is it ironic that you have to show ID to get ID?)

The tag line for this argument is that showing ID is a plot to "suppress voting by the elderly, poor and minorities".

Being as I have been among "the poor" in this country (to the point of my family being "assisted" deeper into a hole by the government that you can only get out of if you quit being "assisted" cold turkey and work really freakin' hard, live with a family of 5 in a one bedroom house and have family with a farm that will help provide you with food... but honestly, that's a whole nother post)...

As I was saying, having been among the poor in this country I think I have the right to say this: quit using the "disinfranchised" as pawns.

If you really don't want to show an ID when you vote get an absentee ballot. They bring them to you and pick them up.

If the cost of the ID is the trouble then your worries are gone because you can get a voter ID card free. Problem solved. But, and I'm just wondering here, if you can't afford a state ID then I am going to assume that you are on some sort of government assistance. Which I believe you have to show ID to receive. Hmmm...

As for the elderly, having not been elderly I can only speculate and make assumptions using people that I know. Which would be my grandparents, Doug's grandparents and my great-grandparents. Who all viewed- and view- voting as a privlege.

My great-grandmothers were born before or at the turn of the (last) century. As they grew up voting was not something they were allowed to do. Both were married before they were allowed to vote.

My maternal grandparents have carried themselves from dirt poor to very well off. This was before the government aided you with food, money and medical coverage. Hard work and going without was a way of life. If you think that they aren't going to vote and have a say then you'd best screw your head on straight and think again. And I will wager that most in thier "elderly" group have the same experiences and feelings.

As for the minority, I cannot say that I have been that, either. But my ancestors are Irish. And if you look at how the Irish were treated when they came to this country... I believe they were first a slave class. (OK, so they were called "indentured servants". It's just a nice way to say "owned". Actually, the Scottish were "indentured" as well. And the Chinese...) Yep, working in gold mining camps in the west, using pick axes in the mountains for the trains that would eventually come, working as housekeepers and nannies so their children could, maybe, have a better life. During the potato famine when they were immigrating to the US is droves I believe there were signs in the windows that said "No Irish".

It's time that we stopped taking our freedom for granted. Voting is a privlege. Driving is a privlege. Owning a home is a privlege.

The only rights we have are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Everything else is cake. It would do us all good to remember that.