Ignorance is Bliss...or is it?

We have a huge problem in the United States.  It's much greater than the recession, the budget crisis, the wars, and the lack of equal rights, combined.  Registered voters are voting (that's good...) without knowing what they are voting for/against!!!  Why is this a problem? Well, we end up with governors who are not so popular, i.e. Rick Scott of Florida, presidential candidates  who aren't exactly "top-notch," we get stuck in wars we have no business being in, and our governmental stability is threatened because we have representatives complicating our budget far more than necessary.

LZ Granderson, in his weekly column on CNN Opinion, wrote, "...Yet we all know people who gleefully admit they know nothing about politics, don't have time to find out what the current issues are or even know how the government works, but go out and vote. Want to know why it seems Washington is run by a bunch of idiots? Blame this hiccup in our political system for starters. What's a solution? Weed out some of the ignorant by making people who want to vote first pass a test modeled on the one given to those who want to become citizens."

I remember my high school Civics class; I learned so much about the way our country works, and enjoyed it, knowing that I would soon be able to take part in the democratic processes of this great nation.  It made me feel like it was an honor to register to vote, to join what I assumed was an elite group.  In reality, it was no big deal.  I registered in about five minutes, and felt no different after I filled out the generic form.  What if there was more to it than putting your address and personal info on the registration form?  What if there was a test, to prove that you are qualified to vote on issues that affect us all?

I think we should strongly consider it for any upcoming elections.  I mean, can anybody just show up on the field to play as a wide receiver for the Colts without ever having played a single game of football?  Can anybody stand in as an engineer designing a skyscraper in Dubai without showing proof of their qualifications?
So why should just anybody be able to elect the officials running our country?  


Over the next few days, we are going to go through a "refresher course," using basic questions from the Citizenship and Naturalization tests.  So we are all on the same page.

IMPACT Invitation

Over the past few years, I have been interested in becoming involved in LGBT advocacy in the community, and have tried to "get in" with SAVEDade and Unity Coalition.  But it has proven to be a lot more difficult than I originally thought, due to seemingly "closed" circles that surround these organizations.  And now that I am back in Miami, I am ready to take action again.  This time, instead of trying to join the ranks of an already-established organization, I (along with a group of other interested activists) have decided to form a real advocacy group, IMPACT - Individuals Motivated to Produce Actual Change Today.

 We hope to represent the diversity of the LGBT community and have an open and transparent agenda which welcomes the participation of all. We intend to concentrate on legislative issues, but will also work on educational campaigns and other projects as our members and our community see fit.

Our first order of business will be to get every municipality in Miami-Dade County (as Miami Beach has done) to pass a resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act, a bill in Washington that seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting "permanent partners" of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner  as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents. We are already writing language for the resolution and have made calls to elected officials in Coral Gables and Doral about placing it on their city agendas. Once we get a supporting resolution from every municipality, we might go to Broward County and get support from the governments there before forwarding them to the bill's advocates in committee.

We can also take on other issues, such as anti-hate and anti-bully education (making it a legislated requirement) in schools, among other timely issues, but we want to include more of you in the discussion before we take any direction.

We would love for you to join us. It does not take a huge commitment of time. Maybe you just want to attend the community conversations so that we may "pick your brain" so to speak, get your ideas and opinions on issues, so that we can make decisions and move on issues that are more representative of the community. In fact, strength in numbers can also have impact so by joining, you help. If you want to become involved with IMPACT, please let me know. We are trying to get a nice group together for the Miami Beach Pride event April 16 so that we can do some outreach there. We will soon have a Facebook page to keep everyone informed on our activities (we will post when we are before a town council or city commission so you know if it's your elected officials and you can be there to lend support). Also, feel free to forward the information on the new group along to your friends and colleagues in the community, LGBT or not, who want to make a difference.

Ready to take action,

Megan Conyers

Founding Member, IMPACT