Politics carries with it a negative connotation. Politics, if not boring to most people, is pointless, hostile, and belligerent. This all may be true, but, Americans need to remember how much politics affect their daily lives, from tax rates, corporate regulations, foreign policies, civil liberties, etc.
Despite this reality, in recent decades, a good election has less than half of registered voters. This may very well change this election season. We are witnessing a turning point in American history. The 2008 primary season has been unlike any in American history with record-breaking voter turnouts particularly in the Democratic primary.
The most evident question to this reality is simple: will there be effective change with simply voter turn-out? Sadly, the answer is not necessarily a 'yes.' The problem that Americans face is more elementary, but it is mind-bogglingly complex in this country.
The American political experiment is that of a a constitutional republican government. The government consists of three branches with a system of checks-and-balances and elected officials serve as representatives to those who elect them. The government is literally for the people. This isn't news to anyone.
The primary reason that there is a political crisis is not because the government is ‘too big.’ But rather, I think, it is because of political apathy. If the theory is, the American governing powers will serve the people and the people, in turn, neglect their duty in supervising elected representatives, it naturally follows that the theory will be turned on its head and the government will face corruption.
Political apathy has a detrimental effect upon American life. Politicians and special interest groups rely on political indifference for self-serving purposes. They use marketing slogans to create subjects that appeal to us and conceal real issues from consideration. Sen. Barack Obama is marketing the slogan ‘change’ knowing that every individual citizen will interpret that word differently—what sort of change is he talking about? It would actually be an inconvenience for him to be too specific. He also used the phrase ‘audacity of hope’ without mentioning the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, in which, he voted against and held off of the Illinois Senate floor. Surely, one might argue he should have an audacity of hope, if he has only been a senator for two years and has the audacity to run for president.
When popularity is pitted against responsibility, popularity more than likely will attract the most votes while responsibility will win informed-votes. The idea of finding ‘common ground’ on divisive moral issues sounds nice; however, if we don’t watch the supposed ‘common ground’ legislation, it may in fact be one-sided. We shouldn’t sell our votes or our conscience on words.
In the same way, we pour money into worthwhile causes. Later, we will consider more causes and additional funding for already established worthwhile causes short on money. This can be a problem. We support federal funding for education that is distributed to the states and districts complying with federal standards. We never considered a similar (and perhaps more effective) system where the state decides its educational standards under the umbrella of specific universal national standards, where education is funded on the tax dollars of the individual state with the possibility of states with more rural settings and smaller economies to appeal for federal funding for further assistance, e.g. Missouri appealing for more funds while Texas funds itself.
By accepting everything that sounds good (in the present) instead of what is good and will likely continue to work (that which is responsible), we actually perpetuate problems as bureaucracy erodes more of the pie for itself at the greater cost to the taxpayer. Children are adorable, children are the future, and children are worth the sacrifice. But if we truly cared, we would establish a system that works. That’s the point.
Other terrible practices are allowed. We buy into illusionary security at the sacrifice of liberty. Intellectually, we accept that we must one day die, but that reality is difficult to come to terms with emotionally. We sacrifice liberty with the fear that not doing so is to risk our own lives and the lives of our loved ones. But further intellectual reflection doesn’t necessarily lead us to the same conclusion. We enacted a law (long-term effect) for the sake of instant-gratification, a right-now sense of security and comfort. Was that the most prudent of decisions?
Ultimately, political apathy is destroying this country. The same people who are quick to complain about taxes, traffic, bureaucratic waste, war, are the same people that will sit at home watching Don’t Forget the Lyrics! instead of voting. This same line of thinking has become a cancer in the pro-life community. Pro-life citizens wait for a candidate to say those magical words, “I’m pro-life” and they go and vote for the candidate. Hasn’t it occurred to you that someone has figured out by now that by using those words they can have a monopoly on an entire block of voters consistently every election season? Look at their voting record, look at their rhetoric. We had a Republican-majority Congress (Congress can end abortion) and not one right-to-life bill was put on the floor despite several fetus-personhood bills were written. Are they using you or do they want to end abortion? Write your legislators. Reprehend politicians. This won’t end unless we do something.
The American people in addition to being unengaged, most are also uninformed or misinformed about the issues to. We need to take the time to vote, watch debates, research, look up voting records—look into history and see what these people are about—we are called to engage in the democratic process. We have to look beyond the tendencies of the media to focus on personalities rather than issues. The news cultivates uninformed voters, it does not give much attention to the candidates’ voting recording or their stances on the issues, but rather makes a hype out of ‘controversial statements’ often quoted out of context.
What is the result? Election coverage becomes a melodramatic horse race for office. This is why we have, perhaps, the worst selection of candidates in American history. Apathy for casting votes has changed the outcome of elections, including Presidential elections. However, apathy for understanding issues and candidates by casting votes based on irrelevant factors like marketing slogans, name familiarity, and party also negatively affects democracy, and likely to a greater degree. Dumb politicians are elected by dumb people. Get involved. Research. Engage in the political process. Vote!
Despite this reality, in recent decades, a good election has less than half of registered voters. This may very well change this election season. We are witnessing a turning point in American history. The 2008 primary season has been unlike any in American history with record-breaking voter turnouts particularly in the Democratic primary.
The most evident question to this reality is simple: will there be effective change with simply voter turn-out? Sadly, the answer is not necessarily a 'yes.' The problem that Americans face is more elementary, but it is mind-bogglingly complex in this country.
The American political experiment is that of a a constitutional republican government. The government consists of three branches with a system of checks-and-balances and elected officials serve as representatives to those who elect them. The government is literally for the people. This isn't news to anyone.
The primary reason that there is a political crisis is not because the government is ‘too big.’ But rather, I think, it is because of political apathy. If the theory is, the American governing powers will serve the people and the people, in turn, neglect their duty in supervising elected representatives, it naturally follows that the theory will be turned on its head and the government will face corruption.
Political apathy has a detrimental effect upon American life. Politicians and special interest groups rely on political indifference for self-serving purposes. They use marketing slogans to create subjects that appeal to us and conceal real issues from consideration. Sen. Barack Obama is marketing the slogan ‘change’ knowing that every individual citizen will interpret that word differently—what sort of change is he talking about? It would actually be an inconvenience for him to be too specific. He also used the phrase ‘audacity of hope’ without mentioning the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, in which, he voted against and held off of the Illinois Senate floor. Surely, one might argue he should have an audacity of hope, if he has only been a senator for two years and has the audacity to run for president.
When popularity is pitted against responsibility, popularity more than likely will attract the most votes while responsibility will win informed-votes. The idea of finding ‘common ground’ on divisive moral issues sounds nice; however, if we don’t watch the supposed ‘common ground’ legislation, it may in fact be one-sided. We shouldn’t sell our votes or our conscience on words.
In the same way, we pour money into worthwhile causes. Later, we will consider more causes and additional funding for already established worthwhile causes short on money. This can be a problem. We support federal funding for education that is distributed to the states and districts complying with federal standards. We never considered a similar (and perhaps more effective) system where the state decides its educational standards under the umbrella of specific universal national standards, where education is funded on the tax dollars of the individual state with the possibility of states with more rural settings and smaller economies to appeal for federal funding for further assistance, e.g. Missouri appealing for more funds while Texas funds itself.
By accepting everything that sounds good (in the present) instead of what is good and will likely continue to work (that which is responsible), we actually perpetuate problems as bureaucracy erodes more of the pie for itself at the greater cost to the taxpayer. Children are adorable, children are the future, and children are worth the sacrifice. But if we truly cared, we would establish a system that works. That’s the point.
Other terrible practices are allowed. We buy into illusionary security at the sacrifice of liberty. Intellectually, we accept that we must one day die, but that reality is difficult to come to terms with emotionally. We sacrifice liberty with the fear that not doing so is to risk our own lives and the lives of our loved ones. But further intellectual reflection doesn’t necessarily lead us to the same conclusion. We enacted a law (long-term effect) for the sake of instant-gratification, a right-now sense of security and comfort. Was that the most prudent of decisions?
Ultimately, political apathy is destroying this country. The same people who are quick to complain about taxes, traffic, bureaucratic waste, war, are the same people that will sit at home watching Don’t Forget the Lyrics! instead of voting. This same line of thinking has become a cancer in the pro-life community. Pro-life citizens wait for a candidate to say those magical words, “I’m pro-life” and they go and vote for the candidate. Hasn’t it occurred to you that someone has figured out by now that by using those words they can have a monopoly on an entire block of voters consistently every election season? Look at their voting record, look at their rhetoric. We had a Republican-majority Congress (Congress can end abortion) and not one right-to-life bill was put on the floor despite several fetus-personhood bills were written. Are they using you or do they want to end abortion? Write your legislators. Reprehend politicians. This won’t end unless we do something.
The American people in addition to being unengaged, most are also uninformed or misinformed about the issues to. We need to take the time to vote, watch debates, research, look up voting records—look into history and see what these people are about—we are called to engage in the democratic process. We have to look beyond the tendencies of the media to focus on personalities rather than issues. The news cultivates uninformed voters, it does not give much attention to the candidates’ voting recording or their stances on the issues, but rather makes a hype out of ‘controversial statements’ often quoted out of context.
What is the result? Election coverage becomes a melodramatic horse race for office. This is why we have, perhaps, the worst selection of candidates in American history. Apathy for casting votes has changed the outcome of elections, including Presidential elections. However, apathy for understanding issues and candidates by casting votes based on irrelevant factors like marketing slogans, name familiarity, and party also negatively affects democracy, and likely to a greater degree. Dumb politicians are elected by dumb people. Get involved. Research. Engage in the political process. Vote!
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