Dear Founding Fathers,
I am writing to you as a citizen of the Revolution of 1776--albeit, 228 years later. I have little complaint about the framework of government you created so long ago in our Constitution; however, I must address one fallacy it has created in modern times.
I am speaking specifically of the Electoral College in the selection of the Executive of our federal government. Why was it so important to keep the people out of the direct selection of the president? Why must we be so removed from the process of an act that so directly affects us in our daily lives? I agree that the presidency as you envisioned it is nothing as it exists today. Yes, it has wildly stepped outside of its Constitional bounds, but what can we expect when we give one individual so much power?
Could the Executive Branch have been more effective as a committee of three elected individuals? Yes, I believe that this is the case. By having more than one individual in the position we eliminate the over-zealous nature of political parties and the arrogance of people who see no limits to their power. I digress, however, from the original intent of this letter.
There are lessons that we as the oldest existing democracy may learn from those nations that have evolved and adopted our form of government--the fledgling democracies of our world. Specifically, they entrust the people to directly select their executive from a broad selection of candidates. Although, they are highly political, no one group or state is disenfranchised by the population of any state, regardless of its size. Yes, the power and independence of the states were highly politicized during your time, but I argue, also, that this is no longer a viable consideration. The states exist on a specific level that does not require them to compete on the national level.
Gentlemen, the system you envisioned and designed is not an honest system today. Simply put, we must discontinue its use and amend the Constitution to address and adapt to the needs of a modern society that demands direct involvment in the selection of its leadership.
We have a system that allows the top two candidates to control the vast majority of power in the selection process. Third party candidates are only minor (or in the case of the 2000 presidential election major annoyances) contenders. In a modern democracy, all cadidates, regardless of the number in the field, stand equally for election. In addition, they provide for "run-off" elections for the top two candidates who win the majority of the votes, so that the best leader may be selected.
An example is the 2000 presidential election (again). Three candidates battled for the right to represent the United States of America as its president. Two candidates actually stood as strong candidates garnishing the vast majority of the votes cast in all fifty states (yes, we've grown). One candidate won the popular vote, but he is not the president because of the archaic and puzzling system instituted by you so long ago. In a modern democracy, the two top candidates would then have entered another election to see who would be president. In essence, your system failed the American people. They are represented today by a president who did not win a popular mandate from the nation he purpoits to represent; therefore, the people were disenfranchised on a national and epidemic scale. This must never happen again!
Therefore, the purpose of my letter has been explained. I would hope that the great document--the Constitution of the United States of America--you envisioned over two centuries ago can grow and evolve to meet the challenges of the American people today!
Sincerely,
An American Citizen
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