Posted on 04/15/2022 8:28:06 AM PDT by Hojczyk
I agree. I was not looking for tests in that sense. I was thinking of how many branches of Government does America have and what are the functions. Just basic understanding of what how Government works. Clearly people are elected without that information. Anyone could read a pamphlet and answer a few questions. As far as mental status those tests are measures of gross dementia. Do you know the day, where you are, can you repeat 5 words draw a clock face and put a time on that face when requested. Many of the current senators would fail. In most positions of responsibility there are health exams required.
A mental status exam is part of a general health exam although it is often passed with answers to the general questions about health & the conversation between doctor & patient rather than formally administered. Many CEO are required to take a yearly exam. The President & VOP do, so why not the house & senators.
Agree.
I mostly agree, especially when you give your examples of how easy the test questions are for a non-impaired person. After all, if a person can’t read a clock face, they shouldn’t be leader of the free world.
But, just for the sake of argument - devil’s advocate - let me try to poke a few holes in that argument.
First of all, what if instead of failing to read a clock face, the candidate fails to see he has lost an election? We actually have a candidate so deluded that he believes the fairest election in history (2020) was rigged!
And make no mistake: we could easily assemble a panel of medical doctors who would certify that such a delusion proves mental incapacity.
At some point we have to recognize that freedom with limited options is not freedom.
For example, the decision to buy or sell, or to hire or fire. I think it’s none of anyone’s business what my reasons are for any of those choices.
I might not hire someone because I think they are ugly or I don’t like the look on their face. That may make me a “bad” person. It might be a better world if there weren’t people like me who would have such shallow reasons for rejecting someone as an employee.
But it is still my choice, and I shouldn’t have to explain my preferences to anyone - any more than I should have to defend my preference for one cucumber over another at the grocery store.
Voting is the same - it is my vote - let me decide - don’t limit my choices - even with good intentions - even for my own good. If I want to vote for my cat as POTUS, I should be able to write that in - and it should count.
If by some fluke, a majority of people vote for my cat - then my cat should be President.
There have been plenty of people on FR that were talking about this for years now.
Don’t vote for anyone over 70.
“We need to demand proof of competence at all levels of society, no dumbing down to control outcome of different interest groups.”
That’s racist and sexist.
The age issue isn’t about dementia. Although there are exceptions today.
The age issue is about being able to deal with the issues of the world—which is generally younger and concerned about other issues. It’s about being stuck in a dogma that is out of synch.
It’s about ideas and leadership.
It’s also about sudden health issues. A 75-80 year old man is many times more likely to have a debilitating stroke or other catastrophic medical issue than a 55 year old. That has nothing to do with their politics. It has to do with their age.
There are certainly exceptions to the rules. But those exceptions pretty much prove the rule.
Washington was 57 when he became President.
“Geriatric”
Incompetence and evil comes in all sorts of forms. I don’t think years since birth should be an automatic disqualifier.
Right, since the young folks are so enlightened. /S
This is pilpul. We don’t govern or select by statistics. Statistics are a tool not a conclusion.
I can not agree. There is an interest in the common good that demands that a cat not be elected or allowed to serve. If every candidate/ seated President is tested there is no discrimination.
It is not like transgenderism. A person is not a president because they think they are (I would argue that transgenderism is mental illness as well).
I presume the /s was omitted purposefully. The election was rigged and results are moot on that basis. We are a Nation operating lawlessly at this point.
Furthermore, it is not about a panel of experts testifying it is whether a person passes the standard mental status exam, no more no less.
No that is color & sex blind. Exactly as it should be.
“No that is color & sex blind.”
That would be true in a sane, logical world. That is not the world we live in.
You are clearly an old fart who hasn’t spent any time with real young people. Your view is that of what you read on line.
I would trust my future to my kids and their friends long before I would the people living in the local assisted living facility.
I wonder why the Constitution doesn’t require a mental fitness test?
Maybe the founders wanted to leave the choice up to the voters.
Haha! I am an old fart - turned 70 today.
But as fir not spending time around kids you are wrong. I have 11 kids and 24 grandchildren, who I love dearly.
I trust them with the future too - mostly because they didn’t go through the public school system and they are therefore not hopelessly brainwashed.
I think you will find MOST young folks are good people with their heads on straight. Many of the stereotypes you read about on FR represent a couple % of the total.
We need more of them involved in our cities and towns.
Happy Birthday!
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