With the recent heated debates about Whyville
censorship and government policies, one cannot help
but form this or her own views on politics. While the
majority of Whyville is underage for voting, this new
debate has given us the chance to experience
government and our role in it first-hand.
LilBeaut's latest article, "Define Freedom" offered
some very interesting opinions, ones that I have seen
displayed several times at the Whyville petitions. In
her writing, she offered a voting system where the
Whyvillians themselves elect a leader to represent the
people. While this theory definitely is appealing on
paper (or on screen, for that matter), carrying this
out could prove to be dangerous.
Whyville has had a tendency to favor the popular,
beautiful, and wealthy for contest winners. Although
it is a bit embarrassing for us to admit, each
Whyvillian knows this is true. Many who want to be
"liked" by this respected character will sign away
their votes just for a second glance. What good could
this do for Whyville? Very, very little.
Look around. The true majority of Whyville is newcomers,
the poor, and the unknown. These people will not be
represented by the popular, for the popular have most likely
either already stepped on these people in their rise
to fame, or have forgotten their position in society.
Voting would have little or no basis on actual
qualities a candidate possesses. Because this is the
internet, we do not know of the person's actual
contributions to society, nor do we know if they are
telling the truth. The internet acts as a mask.
Behind this mask, we can conceal age, gender, marital
status, and frightening traits. How will we
even know who our leaders really are?
Also, we run the risk of having the President's account hacked.
If a hacker got on such a powerful account, he could
cause terrible havoc and get the President impeached.
Not only that, but even more dangerously, hackers (and corrupt politicians)
could extort private information from Whyvillians.
The largest problem with an election, however, is the
greed. It is human nature to want a lot for yourself,
to live lavishly and happily. This is exactly the
problem that Communism has always faced. When power
is handed to a leader -- the absolute power of the
country -- he or she takes advantage. It may be hard to
believe that some of your friends would do this, but
with such easy access to forbidden information and
power, our leaders could turn the Whyville community
upside-down. For example, a leader could easily
pressure his citizens into giving him their passwords
or private information.
I am an American, and I do love democracy. Please do
not get me wrong on this. However, in an environment
made for children, having a President could not only
make the "lower class" feel inadequate, but could also
jeopardize our safety. This is the Internet, and
perhaps we should leave it to City Hall.
