There's been a lot of International criticism about America's dogged loyalty to the Constitution. The electoral college is one of those areas where, I believe, that criticism is well founded.

The original intent of it was to prevent small states from running roughshod over larger ones. It basically gave land a vote, in a sense.

The states at the time were still very different, having been settled by different nationalities and faith traditions that didn't always get along. Pennsylvania, settled by Quakers for example, wouldn't have wanted Massachusetts calling the shots on liquor laws and Massachusetts, settled by Puritans, were known to capture peoples from heathen religions like Quakers and whip them out of their territory tied to the back of a mule driven cart or wagon. You have to appreciate the irony there because if you've seen any of the movies about Puritans or read about them you know how much they loved being heathenish about their brutality. Thank God they all died out. The Quakers are still around though, and still not hip to liquor.

Anyways, it was also a power play to boost the landed gentry. The founders, it turns out, really liked the idea of aristocracy. They just didn't like it being by birthright and they certainly didn't like George III's picks. The population was exploding; most of whom were peasants who had come to America as indentured servants. They had no wealth, owned no property, and were illiterate. Translation: they were very much looked down upon and not trusted with the vote power.

What they got that they didn't have in Europe was a chance to improve themselves. This, of course, didn't apply to African Americans.

Most of the founders were Deists, Unitarians, or had been heavily influenced by Unitarian thought. Their greatest fear was that bloodshed over religion that had plagued Europe would follow them here. So, no vote to the ignorant masses and an electoral college to give those educated few (who just so happened to be land owners) a leg up in elections.

Given the behavior of those rascally Puritans and others, but mostly those Puritans, they were probably right.

Are they still?

At this point, there's little doubt that what the electoral college was meant to prevent, it's causing. The ignorant masses clinging to religious zealotry are swaying things disproportionately and making a mess.

Any kind of corrective or progressive legislation is stalled and has been for decades. We're talking behind the rest of the world. The will of the electorate is ignored. We can't seem to solve our problems. More and more people are ready to part ways because they no longer believe the boat can be righted.

I tend to agree because even though it seems most people want the electoral college gone and gerrymandering ended, as long as those ignorant masses are electing Donald Trump's, Mitch McConnells, Marjorie Taylor Greene, etc it will never happen. That doesn't leave many options on the table.

I guess I've talked your ear off long enough now. Thanks for your time.