By Kevin Wilson
news@joplinglobe.com
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People ask me sometimes if it is hard to come up with ideas for columns. I tell them that there is so much happening in the world that it usually isn’t hard to find something that I want to spout off about. Now, if I had to do a daily column I’m sure that it would be a different story (is that a pun?).
Anyway, I read and listen to a lot of news and I don’t just pay attention to those commentators who I agree with. When you write an opinion column you can’t just hear one side of the story. You need to be willing to listen and consider a variety of opinions — or at least you should. I get a lot of good ideas for columns from those who don’t agree with me, and I think it’s important that people hear all sides of an issue.
Such is the case with this column. I read the column by Steve and Cokie Roberts that took the Republican Party to task for advocating that someone who votes should have to prove that they are who they say they are. Heaven forbid that you should have to do such a thing in America. They said, and I quote: “There’s only one word for the deliberate and systematic attempt to undermine voting rights going on right now. That word is ‘un-American.’”
Really, so they think it’s un-American to require people to at least prove that they are who they say they are to vote? I guess maybe in some way they might be right because there is ample evidence in American history of instances where various political machines have used voter fraud to sway elections. So, since that has been a part of the American political scene forever, maybe someone could consider it un-American to try to keep that from happening.
For the record, I want everyone entitled to vote to do so — regardless of political party or ethnic background. I would love to have a 100 percent voter turnout. The privilege for Americans to vote has been bought by the blood of patriots for over 200 years, and I want to see that right preserved for everyone eligible. But what is the big deal about making sure the voting process is fair, and how does requiring identification disenfranchise certain groups of voters?
When you go to your local convenience store do they ask to see an ID if you write a check? What about if you go to the video store? Do they want to make sure that you are who you say you are before leaving the store with a DVD? And, no one questions that. So why would we not want to preserve the most precious right that we have as Americans and make sure that only those eligible are voting?
Now, before the liberals get out the pens or burn up the keys on the computer railing on about how many people can’t afford ID cards, just take a breath and read the rest of the column — then you can write the rebuttal. When I was in the Legislature, I know that we considered that very issue and made sure that anyone who could not afford an ID card was given one free of charge. If I remember correctly, we even had it written into the legislation that there would be mobile units going around to communities providing state identification cards for those who didn’t have driver’s licenses.
So, if the cards are free, what is the beef for requiring people to prove who they are if they show up to vote? Is it really that big a deal to insure the integrity of our most basic right? How does requiring someone to prove that they are who they say they are before casting a vote disenfranchise them?
In their column, the Robertses quote Attorney General Eric Holder as saying: “Protecting the right to vote, ensuring meaningful access and combating discrimination must be viewed not only as a legal issue, but as a moral imperative.” I wholeheartedly agree, but I also think that protecting the right to vote includes ensuring that those who do vote are actually eligible to do so. To me that is not un-American but rather an honor to the sacrifices of those who died to preserve that right.
Kevin Wilson lives in Neosho. He is a former state legislator.
