It's Apathy and Education

[Kevin T. Brady <KBrady@BillofRightsInstitute.org>]

This forum and discussion are great.  I am so happy to see so many participate, especially the young contributors.  Nevertheless, I believe I must make some comments on the trajectory of some of the various opinions.

We are all talking about Campaign Finance Reform.  Of course, this is a major issue among the media; yet poll after poll shows that Americans really don't care, or at least this stands out as a very minor issue.  To us it might be important, but to our fellow citizen, Campaign Finance Reform just does not rank high.

Instead of looking for ways to regulate campaigns and control the thoughts and actions of others, shouldn't we be looking for ways to free up avenues for people to express their opinions more openly.  Maybe an answer to the apathy lies with the non-participating majority of Americans themselves.  Maybe the answer lies in our schools.   I've taught high school and college for a number of years, and I know that the overwhelming majority of my students entered my classes clueless about contemporary politics.  They knew even less about the sublime traditions of this country, in particular, and of Western Civilization in general.  Surveys last year demonstrated how little even Ivy League students knew about their American heritage.  We see these dismal results, and then we wonder why people are not excited about the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy in America.

Candidates have to motivate apathetic citizens.  They have to go to where the people are.

How should politicians try to reach the uninterested masses?  We live in a television culture.  Most people receive their news and entertainment through television.  They sit and passively absorb the messages that come out of the box.  Where else are politicians going to reach people?  Through magazines and newspapers?--most people do not read.  Reading requires active thought process.  Most people refuse to engage in active thought.  Passive absorption is so much less taxing.

Even though TV ads cost lots of money, they are the most effective way of reaching people.  Most of the campaigns' funds are spend on TV ads.  They advertise on TV because most people are sitting in front of the boob tube all evening.  The candidates have to raise exhorbenent amounts of money to reach this majority of voters.

We all talk about getting people register to vote, and then we say we do not want to let these apathetic people see issues through the medium they are most used to.  Who then will explain the issues to them-- party hacks who come to their door?  Maybe they can be told how to vote by their unions or corporate employers.  These people are not going to read the paper, or check Internet sites.  It's a shame, but most people just will not make the effort

I also read many messages in this discussion that ask that we do away with negative ads.  The ironic thing is that negative ads work.  That's why candidates use them.  The second problem is that what seems negative to one, seems informative to another.  Who should decide what is negative and what id positive?  More unelected bureaucrats.

We seem so willing to give up or liberty and independence to unelected government agencies.  Many of us do not want democracy; we want government regulators to tell us (or at least, our neighbors) how to do things and how to live.  The idea of more regulation in a free society seems funny, if it were not so tragic.

Today, I wish we would focus on lessons our Founders taught us.  Liberty is vital to our happiness.  Having liberty necessitates that we accept responsibility.  We, as a nation, are responsible for whatever mess we see in Washington.  If an elected official acts unethically, we must not allow him or her back in office.  If an official knowingly breaks the law--- no matter how little the law or how good the economy is, we must throw her out of office and/or send her to jail.  Instead, we, as a nation, make excuses.  We will not accept responsibility.  We would rather clamor for more government regulatory action.   This way, no one could point to us as passing judgments.  This way, we could have less responsibility.  

The answer for the future lies with these young people in our discussion.  You have the responsibility to learn what made this country great.  You have the responsibility to go far beyond what you learn in school.  You must read, learn, and when your turn comes, lead.   You cannot rely on the system or the older generation to show you.  They may help, but it's your responsibility to yourself and to your country.  The US is on cruise control from the firm foundations instituted by great men of past generations.  The culture can't cruise forever.  It the spirit of liberty and civic virtue are not replenished, this noble experiment will one day fade into history.