Political Education and Involvement
Political education and involvement are critical to the health of our democracy and the future of our nation. The tendency of Americans to detach themselves from the political process cripples our system and must be reversed. Through active involvement and education, American citizens can utilize law and government as constructive tools for progress and free themselves from oppression and exploitation.
If we make an honest assessment of the intentions of our founders, we can admit the nation was not originally conceived as a body to be run by the totality of the common people. The existence of representative structures like the bicameral Congress and the antiquated Electoral College are both indicators of the lack of faith the founders had in the general population, and States in early America limited the rights of individuals to vote or hold office through a variety of qualifications including race, religion, gender, and wealth. The serious flaws in the Constitution (as originally written) concerning equality and human rights by extension limit the actual democratic power of the populace. Fortunately, the founders provided a means to amend the document and address those inequalities, but the impetus for change must necessarily come from the politically empowered. This makes every eligible voter morally responsible for political education and involvement as a protection for the disenfranchised and unrepresented.
Today we live in a world that provides almost instant unlimited access to information. The Internet is a great tool of democratic efforts, providing tremendous opportunity to those seeking political education and involvement. It does, though, exacerbate two problems for people. First, the egalitarian ability for anyone to distribute information without filter creates a vast sea of incorrect information, either due to poor research or willful deceit. Second, the wealth of content available on any topic imaginable provides abundant opportunity for distraction instead of education. Both problems require dedicated effort by the individual to overcome and in that way exactly summarize the primary obstacles to political education and involvement.
Manipulation of the media by those controlling said media is nothing new in the U.S.. In the past, limitations of time and distance effectively prevented the general public from acting as fact-checkers and people had to rely on the impartiality of news organizations to deliver unbiased facts. If the owner of the local newspaper, radio broadcast, or television station found a story unfavorable to its own interests, then slanted it or left it unreported altogether, the average citizen had few alternative news sources to provide contrasting information. The Internet allows people to seek out original sources of information, find dissenting or corroborating accounts of events, and transmit information to others around the globe almost instantaneously. This free exchange of information allows unprecedented educational opportunity and protection against the control of information by wealthy media personalities. However, these personalities persist, and it is the obligation of each citizen to counter disinformation campaigns through reading and research of multiple sources.
Entertainment is easy. Political matters are complex, affecting lives in ways that can be alternately positive or negative for different groups of people. Laws are written in paragraph and sentence structures that are difficult for the layman to comprehend without education and applied effort. All of these things make true understanding of political processes feel like work – unpaid work to anyone not a lawyer or career politician – and for the average citizen in today’s society, the demands of daily life leave little time or desire for unpaid political research. Seeking entertainment seems so much more desirable to a person weary from a career and personal responsibilities. Still, the distractions of life can not excuse a diminished vigilance. The controlling class wants most to preserve control, and will happily promote distractions to the lower classes to prevent political education and involvement. Apathy favors the incumbent, so an uninformed and uninspired voter base, by not sharing information, not holding officials accountable, and not voting, preserves the status quo.
Education and involvement to affect change or preserve justice are paramount to the continuation of a free society. Many people express a distaste for politics and use that as an excuse to avoid exposing their own lack of political knowledge and to justify not learning more. Even worse, others accept the notion that they are powerless against the embedded political machine and apathetically turn away from any form of constructive political discourse or action. Unfortunately, lack of political education only turns more power over to those who currently hold it, preventing the under-represented from achieving equality. Understanding the motivations of lawmakers and the effects of legislation are necessary to cast votes resulting in more favorable conditions, which is the essential check against the abuse of power by holders of public office.
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Jake Negovan drives Red Brown and Blue to be an outlet for progressive political opinion that leads to the betterment of life for the real, multicultural population of the U.S. and the rest of the world. His columns address the issues faced by our country as we continue growing toward a society of equality. More about Jake can be found on the web at jakejots.com or on Twitter@jakenegovan.
