We are living and experiencing fragile democracies where dissent is high and there seems to be a demonization of intellectualism. But at least we have leaders that promised as advertised: President Duterte vowed to get rid of drug dealers and he is delivering it, while America has a president that promised to lie and lie he does.
Of course both the Philippines and the United States are democracies. In the case of the Philippines, we have a more direct democracy where the actual votes of citizens are reflected on the outcome, versus the representative democracy in the United States.
In our country, we just have more of the uneducated and the unenlightened, fixable with proper education. When we get our driver’s license, we need to take a test to pass so that we are privileged to drive. The future of our country requires a similar approach; this is the future of our nation, our children and their children. So why would we submit the future if the majority are half-wits, who in turn will vote for half-wits that will end up wielding considerable and sometimes impossible powers?
This new system should be applied to every democracy around the world. Every voter should be tested for their intellectual, mental and psychological capabilities and be given a grade or a score that will reflect their voting weight.
A system like this will improve any nation. If the voters become elites, they will definitely demand more qualified public leaders and we can move forward and do away with populist scoundrels. And since the electorate become more engaged, they will also hold and demand accountability from those they vote for and politicking will be checked.
Voting should now evolve into having more responsibility not merely as a right because one is a citizen.