It's true -- the average American knows less about the men (and occasional women) who govern them, than they know about Michael Jackson's sex habits. Do you know who your senators are? Your representative? If so, then you're highly unusual. Most people don't have the foggiest idea.
So why don't Americans care who rules them? Well, it's simple: Most Americans know, deep in their heart of hearts, that they do not live in a democracy.
Think about it for a few minutes. Think about who is running in a typical U.S. election. You won't see many brown skins, or many women either. What you'll see is white men. Rich white men. When it is one rich white man running against another rich white man, when the majority of America is not rich white men, it is hard to believe that this is a democracy. In a democracy you would figure that the candidates would be, well, representative members of the community, rather than all being rich white men. Thus even though there is a real difference between the rich white men who are running for office, the majority of Americans, not believing they live in a democracy, just ignore them all and go on with their lives. Or they simply go through the motions, pushing the buttons or flicking the lever or marking the oval for whatever candidate was least smeared in the last mud-flinging festival, secure in the notion that they are doing their duty to the Fatherland, even though they see no real meaning to the duty.
I suppose we could resolve this issue by bringing democracy to America. But that would distract me from following the story of the latest missing white chick on the teevee news shows, and besides, I hear that tonight's episode of Desperate Housewives will be, like, totally bitchin', y'know? As long as I can delude myself that I live in a democracy (even though in my heart of hearts I know I don't), I don't have to, like, DO anything. I mean, what do you expect -- that I'll get up from my easy chair where I'm munching kippered herring and downing cod liver oil while watching Survivor: Iraq, and actually do something?!
- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
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ReplyDeleteI ranted (http://debsquirkyweb.blogspot.com/2005/07/cookies-anyone-lemming-affect.html) about this same subject a few months ago, and it is only going to get worse. They moved the primary in CA back to June because they didn't have enough voters for March primaries since the candidates were decided already. It was affecting the local elections so now Californians have absolutely no influence on presidential candidates. I'm not going to vote in the primaries until we have a national one and it is fair all across the country.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could figure out how to do links. Sorry.
The problem lies in the fact that we vote on parties and not on individuals. Goerge Washington said that political parties would destroy our nation, and it is destroying our nation.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDelete