There is a serious problem with our election system and it has to do with the last nation to join the union. Hawaii has the lowest voter turn out in the nation. Hawaiians aren't really voting for president or in general. One of the biggest problems is that Hawaii was essential taken over by the united states and some of the population don't really consider themselves American. The other big problem is that Hawaii is 5 hours behind the East coast. So when the polls close at 7 PM ET it is only 2 in the afternoon in Hawaii. Why is this a problem? Imagine how you would feel if before you even got to the booth to vote all the major news outlets had already declared which candidate had won the election. Would you feel like your vote mattered if before you even get to vote Ohio had already declared Obama the victor? Imagine voting at 10 PM in your state on election night. It would be pointless. So how can we help this state feel more included when we forced them into the country to begin with?
The answer I believe is quite simple. You need to give them a concession and that concession is to let the General public of Hawaii vote one day before everyone else. It may not solve the problem entirely but at least they wouldn't feel that voting was entirely useless. Most states already allow early voting and then just count those votes on election night. So why not let Hawaii vote 18 hours before you? We could even wait to count their votes until later. They only get three votes anyway and it still couldn't throw the election. I find it laughable when CNN marks Hawaii as giving their electoral votes to the democratic party when only 1% of the votes have been counted there. Of course they are going to vote democrat for years to come as the labor unions hold sway over most of the people that actually go out and vote. However it would go a long ways toward helping Hawaii feel like they really are a part of this great nation. And after forcing them to join the club, letting them go first at something so important as a presidential election might assuage some of the anger some feel towards the US of A.
Next up, Organic food.
In one of my earlier posts I thought a guy was crazy for stating that Organic food is a major concern of middle class Americans. But it turns out this subject could become very important over time as food and water become difficult to obtain due to a growing population and as we continue to pollute the land and water. Organic food is much better for you and even more certainly it is expensive! So what can middle class populations do in order to eat more natural foods not full of preservatives? I am no farmer but I think a Co-op idea would be really cool. Each neighborhood gets together and buys some cows, chickens or whatever. Opt in would be entirely voluntary and those who are really organic smart could volunteer to help set up the program in their neighborhood. The richer people in the community could contribute a higher allotment of cash and those not as well off could donate more of their time on the farm. Obviously this wouldn't be possible in some major cities but for places like Utah it would be easy for the city of bountiful to own farm land in West Bountiful and the neighborhoods would share the animals to lighten the burden. This wouldn't feed everyone obviously but would supplement meals. Then if people decide they enjoy the taste of free range chicken and eggs they would be self motivated to grow the program and if they don't it would obviously loose steam. Seems doable but would require a large effort to get such a program started. I would also love to see plants and fruit trees on the roofs of buildings in major cities which could help reduce pollution and provide home grown organic fruit for major metropolises. I figure that is just a pipe dream, but it would be so great to turn the urban jungle into a real rooftop jungle. Join me next time for my ideas on education!
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