What the Hell Is the Problem?

If you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you might not know that we are just over a month away from the biggest presidential election in our country's history. For the first time, an African-American won the Democratic nomination for presidency. For the first time, a woman has been picked for the Republican nomination for vice-presidency. I don't think everyone truly understands the gravity of this election.

People seem to forget that there was a time when only white men could vote. Some of you might say, "Well, it's in the Constitution. Everyone has the right to vote." It wasn't always that way. Voting rights for African-Americans and women were added later. Originally, the Constitution was written for white men by white men. White women didn't gain the right to vote until the 19th amendment which wasn't official until 1920 (133 years after the Constitution was written)! Despite what people may believe we weren't the first country to grant women suffrage. New Zealand was (1893). I'll admit I don't like Sarah Palin. I think she needs to go hunt some deer or some moose back in Alaska, but she represents how far this country has come.

Even though African-American men gained the right to vote in 1870 with the 15th amendment, many southern states ignored it. In fact, a lot of southern states enforced the Grandfather Clause until 1915 when the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional. The Grandfather Clause exempted any citizen or their descendants from voting if they didn't have the right before 1866-1867 (depending on the state you were in). That meant although 

the 15th amendment granted African-American men the right to vote, they or any of their descendants couldn't vote because they couldn't vote before 1866-1867. Also, the Grandfather Clause exempted white men from paying poll taxes and taking literacy tests, regulations enforced to discourage and infringe African-American men from voting. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was enforced to cease such infringements. So, what's wrong with the act?  Only certain parts of the act are permanent. Certain parts will have to continue to be renewed or extended. This act has been extended four times already.

After all of the struggle, why are so many people not registered to vote? What are we doing? 

One generation plants the trees; Another gets the shade. - Chinese Proverb

After people fought, bled and died so we can have this right, why are 8 million of 25 million eligible African Americans not registered to vote? Those 8 millions people account for roughly 32% of America's Black vote. Don't those 8 million people understand this will be the closet election this country has ever seen? Obviously not. Those 8 million people could be what costs Barack Obama this election. Less than 1/10 of the black population votes Republican. It's fair game to say McCain is banking on black voters to stay at home on November 4th. 

What the hell is the problem?