Photo: Dan Tuffs/Getty Images
Ray Bradbury's Venomous, Brilliant Letter to a Writer Who Wanted To Stop Old People From Voting
100 Years 100 Stories

Ray Bradbury's Venomous, Brilliant Letter to a Writer Who Wanted To Stop Old People From Voting

In 1970, a writer penned an article for The New Republic about the state of California's legislative failures. His conclusion? Take the vote away from the elderly and things will turn out alright. "The old," he said, "having no future, are dangerously free from the consequences of their own political acts, and it makes no sense to allow the vote to someone who is actuarially unlikely to survive, and pay the bills for, the politician or party he may help elect." But he didn't stop there. "As a class they are not..." he went on "wise, benign, and tolerant. ... their chief characteristics are greed, cowardice, resentment over the cheats of life that did not turn out as planned, and the consequent desire to punish somebody for it." Writer Ray Bradbury, then only fifty years old (he went on to live to the ripe old age of ninty-two), responded with this justifiably furious letter.  

To mark its 100th anniversary, The New Republic is republishing a collection of its most memorable articles. This week's theme: Correspondence.

This piece originally appeared in The New Republic on October 3, 1970.

Sirs: I am much in your debt for publishing the brilliant article by Douglas J. Stewart. Taking the vote away from old people is great. But, may I suggest an even better alternative? Let us build ovens and gas chambers and really do the job right. The people can be carted from all over the country, once they are old enough, and, before entering the gas chambers and ovens, have the best dentists pull out their gold teeth. A few soap factories might also be built in the vicinity and the best place for the ovens would be Orange County where more old reactionary Wasps reside. There is a danger here; there are quite a few liberal old people about, and we must be careful not to put Marcuse or anyone like him in the ovens. Other than that, the plan is beautiful and I hope Mr. Stewart will join me in this great improvement on American democracy. We can call it the Nazi Party, if he feels that is a good name. 

I have other plans for cripples, the blind, and the Jews, if Mr. Stewart wishes to hear them. Meanwhile, onward and upward. Let’s get that vote, first, and then the life of the Voter!

Ray Bradbury

Los Angeles, Calif.

Loading Related Articles...
Culture
Article Tools