It is my belief that an educated populace is the backbone of a free and democratic society. Ignorance is a kind of tyranny that strangles the very life out of nation. Ignorance comes in many forms, but the worst, I believe, is the fear of new ideas: the fear of being wrong.
I am writing on this topic, today, because I am frustrated with the ways in which our political system is currently operating. People blame our current leadership… what they seem to forget is that WE ELECTED THEM!!! We live in a Democracy! Leaders are only in power because we put them there!! We have a choice and we have a voice… and yet we let the talking heads do all our thinking!!
I would argue that the majority of our population does not even THINK about how they actually feel politically... They simply go along with what the talking heads of media and politics are saying (on BOTH sides of the aisle).
When we're growing up, we learn our values from the adult authority figures in our lives (our parents, our care-takers, our teachers, our coaches...). If all of those figures are saying pretty much the same thing and those views are not challenged by anyone we like or respect... well, we simply grow up to mirror and parrot those same authority figures.
Let me tell you a story:
I was teaching in an Americorps program in Hartford in 2008 during the election. It was really interesting listening to my kids talk about politics. My students were all male, between the ages of 9 and 14, and predominately black and hispanic. I can't think of a single child that wasn't in favor of Obama. I was, at first, pleased by this because I thought that it demonstrated that the youth were growing up with more socially tolerant values... but then, I began to realize that they didn't understand WHY they wanted Obama to win. I would ask them "Why Obama?" They would look at me as if I had nine heads. So I changed gears: "Okay, so why is Obama a better choice than Edwards or Clinton to represent the Democrats?" First off, they had no concept of the way our two party system functions. Second, the majority of students said they had no idea where any of the candidates stood on any of the issues... they wanted Obama to win because he was black and their parents wanted him to win.
You're probably saying, "Well, they're KIDS. How can we expect them to understand our political system, or be able to make intelligent, informed political decisions about the candidates?" Point taken.
But at what age should they be expected to understand? At what age should we start to teach them?
This past fall, I coached girls’ high school soccer. Even when they weren’t aware I was listening (which was often the case…) I was very carefully listening to what they had to say. The topic of politics rarely came up, but I found, more often than not, they, too, simply parroted what they’d heard on the radio or from their parents. I was dismayed at the amount of ignorance concerning issues that would directly affect their futures (healthcare, education, student loans, etc.) and even more dismayed to find that the overwhelming attitude was that of complete apathy.
And some of the girls were of age to vote.
When I first entered college, I wasn't sure how I felt about anything politically. I grew up in a Republican household (my mother was actually a campaign manager for the Connecticut branch of George H.W. Bush's campaign). Now, you're going to make certain assumptions about my parents' political views because of their political affiliation. You're probably wrong.
I learned every social value that made me want to become a Democrat from my parents. They are very fiscally conservative (they own their own insurance company) - that's why they're Republicans. However, they are disgusted by the social values of the mainstream Republican politicians. I was taught from a very early age that I don't have the right to judge anyone else. Period. Not based on race, or on sex, or on sexuality, or intelligence (though, I REALLY struggle with that last one, I'll be honest). I have no idea what they've been through in life and no one is perfect. They strongly believe that the government has no right to tell people what they can or cannot do in the privacy of their homes - and even if you don't like what your neighbor is up to... you have no right to interfere unless your neighbor poses a threat to your life, liberty, or property.
As I said, before college, I didn't know how I felt about anything politically - I simply parroted my parents’ views. When I first got to college, I still was parroting their views - but found that the party that fit most of my views was the Democratic party. So, when it came time to vote, I registered Democrat.
My parents were actually shocked. I remember having long conversations about who to vote for in the upcoming election (2004, Bush v Kerry). My parents were going to vote for Bush and I said I was voting for Kerry. I don't remember all that we said, but my parents asked why. It was the first time I didn't go along with their views (mostly because I was being exposed to new people, in college, and new points of view). They didn't browbeat me and tell me I was stupid for disagreeing... but they challenged me to defend my view. I didn't agree with many financial policies of the Democrats at that time (and still don't...) but I could not support a party that was against gay marriage or anti-abortion. We would talk for hours - on the phone, in the car, by email... discussing politics and challenging each other's views.
In the fall... my parents voted Democrat for the first time. EVER. And this past year, they voted for Obama. (They're still registered Republicans, so they voted McCain in the primary). I’m not saying I was right and my parents were wrong… I just think it’s really cool that they were willing to have a discussion with me… and actually changed their minds. That’s how a political system is supposed to function… with people talking to each other, listening to each other, and making a decision together.
And is that not how a Democracy is supposed to function? It’s not just majority rule… it’s an educated populace coming together to decide what is best. You have to be able to have a discussion before you vote… make an INFORMED choice.
The goal of Education is to not only give knowledge (which is important in making decisions) but also how to teach people how to think. Thinking is not just absorbing knowledge and regurgitating it. Thinking is absorbing knowledge, processing it, and using it to make decisions. You can’t be Ignorant if you actually make an informed decision, even if it turns out to be the wrong one in the end.
And that is something that is missing from our political system and media analysis these days. On BOTH sides.
I cannot stand it when a person cannot defend or explain his or her beliefs – especially when the person is vehement about them. If you cannot defend or explain your belief then you don’t understand why you believe it… and if can’t understand why, then you shouldn’t believe you’re Right and others are Wrong.
There is far too much evidence on being Right or Wrong in our two party system. Republicans won’t listen to Democrats, Democrats won’t go along with Republicans because the other side is Wrong and we are Right.
Politicians are constantly arguing “The American People want this…” or the “American People don’t want that…” And as Jon Stewart pointed out the other day… we seem to contradict ourselves...
But, unfortunately, the majority of our people don’t seem to actually take the time to think or decide for themselves. We let our politicians decide for us. The American People listen, with all the blind faith of the truly ignorant, to the loudest voices and take their words as absolute authority without actually thinking about what they believe.
And then we get pissed off because things aren’t going the way we want them to.
So, my point in this long rant?
I wanted to write about how the two-party system does not provide a political framework in which the diverse interests of the American People can be represented. I wanted to write about how I wish there were more parties that better provided for the complexity and dynamisim of our population.
But, I realized that no matter how many political parties we have, the problem is not the system, it is the participants. No matter what political parties or leaders arise, a democracy takes an educated and informed populace to function. We cannot blame anyone but ourselves for the crappy state of our nation right now… because we elected the leaders who are responsible for making the decisions that lead us here.
We (technically) live in a democratic republic… but how can democracy function here when less than 1% of our population controls the majority (I can’t remember the exact percentage, so I’m not going to make something up) of our wealth? Especially when we live in a capitalist nation where wealth is power. Doesn’t that sound like an oligarchy?
How can democracy function when the majority of our population (and I am very sad to admit this given my own religious beliefs…) is trying to force their religion into our legal system? Laws banning gay marriage, fights against abortion, fights against the teaching of evolution… all of these things really belong in the cultural and social arenas. Yet, people want to use the power of law to enforce their own beliefs… most of which come down to religious beliefs… I mean, doesn’t that sound a bit like a theocracy?
Our founding fathers decided long enough that our country was to be a free country, where the people get to decide who leads them and the people get to vote on the issues that matter most to them. They specifically provided for the separation of church and state and for freedom of speech… which sounds to me like they wanted us to actually have discussions about the best way to move forward.
Democracy thrives on diversity and discussion… it assumes that there is no right or wrong way to go about doing things. The foundation of democracy is people coming together to decide how to do things. The people will decide what is right and what is wrong... And we’re not doing that. We’re letting only a few members of our population do that for us.
I guess I’m frustrated because the foundations of our society (our constitution, our laws) rock (for the most part... we're still working on it...) We have anti-discimination laws, we don't have laws banning anyone from voting because of race or gender or sexuality or religion... but people are still disciminated against and people still don't vote. Our social attitudes and our stubborn ignorance make it so that our laws oftentimes don’t matter.
It doesn’t matter what the rules of the game are if the players ignore them.
Again, my point? Ignorance is the ultimate enemy of Democracy. Right now, the American People are acting like a bunch of idiots and I’m pissed off.
I’m even more pissed off because I have no idea what to do about it.
