Judgement

There's a great story to get you thinking in the Las Vegas Sun this morning. There's a proposal in the works to have judges appointed by a committee instead of elected by nevadans, like they are now.

There's obvious good and bad to this. Specialized committees are subject to bribery, nepotism and any other form of corruption. However, Nevadans rarely take the time to research who they're voting for.

Putting that responsibility in the hands of a few, could result in better judges, as those few will probably know what they're talking about. But, that just seems so unamerican.

when did we, as a people, decide we wanted to have everything done for us? How many of you balance your checkbook on a regular basis? Or do you just trust the bank to get it right? That's not good, Folks.

I know it sounds jaded, but what happened to the old "If you want something right, you have to do it yourself" credo? I want us to have responsible, knowledgeable judges. But I want us to elect them. If I had my way, every voter would sit down and do some research before heading out the door to cast their ballots. I mean, it's easy enough to find both sides of any argument nowadays. 5 minutes with Google will tell you anything you want to know.

So, that only leaves the question, is that concept of voters being in control more or less important than having competent judges. I don't know. Put the power to appoint judges in the hands of a few, and they'll inevitably become corrupt. Leave it to the voters, and whomever can raise the most campaign money will probably get the job.

Honestly though, I think I'd rather leave it in the hands of the uninformed voters. I know it's not right to argue the slippery-slope, but to me, it's scary to think about what else a lazy American populace might place in the hands of appointed officials. Something to think about, anyway.