To the editor:

I enjoyed Tom Cooper’s recent letter concerning voter apathy.

I concur wholeheartedly with his assessment of complaining citizens, who are “missing in action” at the ballot box, getting the government they deserve.

Yes, we should try to do better, however doing better requires more than just going to the ballot box. Correcting voter apathy is a good start.

However, we must deal with the other side of this two-edged sword, voter ignorance. Together they have the power to destroy our nation, and frankly, we are quickly approaching the death of the most free and prosperous nation the world has ever known by the hands of its own people.

As I continue to follow the subject of uninformed voters, I must say that I find no fault with Tom Cooper personally as he only is conveying what he has been taught or read.

Where to place the blame for this type of misinformation merits a separate discussion.

In the first part of Mr. Cooper’s letter where he addresses our form of government, he is both correct and incorrect.

While he accurately states that we are not a democracy, he misses the mark when he identifies our government as a “representative republic.”

Yet, the definition he uses for a representative republic is fairly accurate in describing the way our government has been functioning for many years, except that I seriously doubt that politicians heed the voices or wishes of the people unless it promotes and forwards their personal agendas.

Our nation is a constitutional republic, which is defined as a system of government where the people elect representatives who govern under a constitution that limits the government’s power and protects individual liberty.

As you can see, one places power in the hands of representatives to do as they deem best with little regard to established law; the other clearly places authority in law to prohibit men from misusing power to achieve their ideas or philosophies.

In 2010, Americans will once again visit the polls to select the men and women who will represent them in government.

Will apathy and ignorance continue to rule the day? I pray not.

Cindy Redburn

Concord

Editor’s note: Cindy Redburn serves as secretary of the Constitution Party of Missouri.