In this nation, and indeed, much of the world, I believe that there are many, many ignorant people who blind themselves from the truth; or rather they do not seek out the truth. These people are much more content to go about their lives in ignorant bliss, rather than investigate how the world works around them. They only emerge outside of their self-imposed chamber of isolation when something threatens the way they conduct their business, or the way they live their life. The problem is that while they sit idly by in their own little world, people, politicians namely, are running amok. The problem can be solved by doing two things: getting motivated and investigating.
Why should we be motivated? Because whether we like it or not, politics runs our lives, it’s not something that we can separate ourselves from. As we draw closer and closer to election day, I’ve heard many people claim that politics is corrupt, so much so that they do not want to cast a vote. While the feeling is understandable, we have more reason to vote than not. The idea behind democracy is for us to choose our leaders, and since we choose our leaders, they have to care about our thoughts and desires. If they do a good job, we elect them. If they don’t, they get kicked out of Washington. But here’s the deal: If we do not vote, what reason do they have to care about you? By throwing our hands up in disgust and walking away, we give them no choice but to turn to those who are going to cast votes and try to woo them. Then later during their term, we hear about some scandal or corrupt bargain, and we grow even more disgusted and disillusioned with our own political system. If we want to fix this issue, then we must do two things: Get out and vote, and demand our politicians do their jobs, and do them right.
If more people get out and vote, then our politicians have more to think about. Their No. 1 goal is to stay in office, or get into office, whichever the case may be. By expanding the voting base, politicians have less wiggle room to waffle around with, and they will have more viewpoints they must contend with. This causes them to be less polarizing and care more about the population they represent.
In our society, we vote and have a say in our elected officials. They do not have power to begin with. We give them their power. Anyone running for a political position must gather support. To do so, they make promises to vote for or against certain laws. Everyone has seen those political ads run by certain groups and campaign staff members. They always have overwhelming support for one candidate, or scathing insults for another. The question then becomes, how do you know what to believe?
First and foremost, never take anything at face value. Realize that whoever is putting out these ads has ulterior motives; chief among them is to get elected or re-elected. Think about the source of the information and ponder if the producer has anything to gain or lose in the long run. A person’s actions are almost always reflected in their motives. Bring those into question when making your decisions and never forget that the people putting this stuff out there want one thing: Your support.
If you want to truly see a candidate’s record with as little bias as possible, you have to get out and do your own research. Any information that comes to you through TV ads, email, and door to door workers is going to be tainted. In order to build the best representation for yourself of what is actually going on, pull from multiple sources, even sources that don’t support what you believe in. Take the television news media for example. Fox News is generally considered to be the most conservative station, and MSNBC one of the most liberal. In order to form a better rounded opinion, go and watch news stories from both sides. For some people that’s the equivalent of giving up a kidney, but it’s good to get exposure from more than one source. And you never know, you may be introduced to another point of view that will change your thinking. Even if you do not find anything good, then at least you can pat yourself on the back and say you gave it a try. You’ll be a better person if you get out there and experience different things.
Second, realize that to all of the controversial topics swirling the nation right now, there are no simple answers. If questions like abortion, the economy, and gun rights had simple answers, they wouldn’t be hot topics weighing on the minds of every politician and everyone interested in politics. The answers to these issues are long and complex, and can’t be taken care of in one nice little sentence or paragraph. These issues are dripping with possible “what-ifs?” In other words, there is no “one size fits all” approach to anything in our society. If you want to get to the heart of the problem, get ready to spend some time doing research and gather opinions and facts. Do not rely on an article or paper that does not cite any sources or evidence.
Adam Farence is a second-year student majoring in history. He can be reached at AF764146@wcupa.edu.