Have American voters gotten too stupid to vote?
This question has plagued me on and off over the years. I mean, to me – a registered Democrat –can it be anymore painfully obvious that the policies of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are what’s best for the country? Both socially and fiscally?
But that’s not the question. Are American voters really too “stupid and vapid”, incapable of rationalizing the debates, thoughtfully mulling over the issues, making an informed decision when casting their vote?
Unfortunately – they are.
Google the phrase “are American voters ignorant/stupid” and the plethora of answers examining the issue is scary. Reading through the search results one arrives at the general consensus that there seems to be a lack of curiosity of voters to voluntarily educate themselves about the issues.
But there are rational (?) explanations as to why this is so.
Americans are getting what little information they have about political candidates from 30-second campaign commercials that's insufficient as a basis for deciding how you're going to vote and what you think about politics and policies. Previously, people got most of their information from newspapers – a much better source than opinionated cable news networks that operate solely on ratings and a 24-hour news cycle.
In the past when voters were members of large mass groups like political parties or labor unions, a voter’s party bosses or labor bosses helped guide their thinking about politics, and they had a better grasp of who or what was going to best help them butter their bread better.
However, in today’s deregulated competitive capitalistic society like ours where there is a great emphasis on entertainment, people are not inclined to sit down and study a newspaper and figure out what's actually going on in politics. That leads to very superficial politics. (Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/national/articles/2008/06/03/the-ignorant-american-voter?PageNr=1)
Also, there is a great lack of knowledge or understanding of America’s very complex political system. The first is that a certain amount of political ignorance is an inevitable by-product of America's unique political environment. One reason Americans have so much difficulty grasping the political facts of life is that their political system is the world's most complex. No European country has as many elections, as many elected offices, as complex a maze of overlapping governmental jurisdictions, as the American system. Most Americans do not know enough about the different branches of government, how they work, and how bills are legislated and passed. It is simply harder to "read" U.S. politics than the politics of most nations. (Source: http://www.princeton.edu/~ccameron/KoreaIIE/IIE337/Schudson.America.pdf)
But should these explanations help us forgive the mass ignorance?
NO.
If we are waging costly wars and taking innocent lives in the name of democracy then the burden of responsibility is also on us to practice that democracy to its fullest.
American voters are some of the laziest in the world. Of the total amount of voting age citizens in the USA only 71% are registered to vote. Of that number of registered voters only 41% voted in the 2010 elections – the lowest turnout in the developed world. However – that does NOT stop the US from having the nuttiest and most vocal political extremists. They are the ones who are turning out in droves and casting their votes for their equally nutty candidates who get elected to office and propose and enact extremist politics.
Remember the entire debt-ceiling debacle? That’s a walk in the park compared to legislature that will be proposed in the near future.
But back to the American voter. Ignorance is not bliss.
We have a responsibility to thoroughly exam the candidates and their response to the issues. Catchy slogans and simple (probably too simple) answers to revenue and tax collection is NOT the solution. In the past decade American voters have proven themselves easily swayed by simplistic answers and wanting to “have a beer with the guy” as criteria for selecting their next president (George ‘Dubya’ Bush).
However, hope seems to be on the horizon. People are tired of their current quality of life and living standards and begun to explore their rights to gather and voice their concerns. First was the Tea Party movement, now we have the Occupy Wall Street protests making it obvious to those who care to listen that it cannot be business as usual.
Things have got to change. Sixty percent of the wealth can NOT be controlled by one percent of society. And people are tired of working two jobs just to pay the necessary bills, or struggling so hard just to make ends meet.
Maybe the American voters do get it after all.
Only the elections of 2012 will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment