Yet, for some people, Politics is a subject just as interesting and enjoyable as a root canal. Most would rather watch reality shows as opposed to political shows, read magazines rather than newspapers, and talk about the lives of their friends and family instead of what is going on in their country and in the world. These people become very ignorant of national and international affairs, or even the basic history and culture of other countries. Many people in influential countries can not name the heads of state for the biggest superpowers in the world, like China, Germany, or Russia. In Florida, I was once asked by a seventeen year old boy, after telling him I was from England, if they spoke French there. If these people do not know simple facts about other countries, how can they possibly be properly informed on the affairs of these nations? or even their own?
Even so, everyone in a democratic country is entitled to vote, and just because that boy in Florida doesn't know what language they speak in England doesn't mean that he won't walk into the voting booth in three years and vote for his state senator, or the president. People go in and vote even if they don't know a thing about the person they are voting for. They say "I saw him helping army veterans on the TV, thats so nice, I'm going to vote for him," or "I saw a commercial saying this guy is going to make killing babies legal and that I should vote for the other guy, so I'm going to do it," or "He is a Democrat, I'm going to vote for him."
This is the biggest issue in World Politics by far, because if thousands of people in a country make a decision based on little or no factual information, it can change the course of an entire government. In the most powerful countries, this can be very dangerous, because the political actions of those countries effect the political actions of the world. If even just a few people make a misinformed decision, it can ruin the entire political system. A democracy is supposed to work in a way that people who have an opinion on a certain issue can have a say on what action should be taken to solve that issue. But if people with no opinion also vote on that issue, how do we know that the action taken was really what the people wanted?
I believe action should be taken to make sure people make an informed vote. Maybe little handouts or cards can be produced containing the facts about a certain issue and handed out to people as they go to vote. Maybe schools should strengthen their history programs in an effort to inform people of the basic facts of countries. Maybe adults should take a required course once a year on the current heads of state, geography, and language distribution of the world. Until people no longer vote while they are misinformed, I do not believe that the democratic system can work properly.
While I agree that ignorance is an issue, I believe it is something that primarily applies to United States as opposed to the entire world. U.S. citizens, through their constitutional right to directly elect Congressional representatives (as well as their right to indirectly elect the President), have more freedom to choose their leaders and influence domestic politics than the great majority of the globe's population. In Germany, for example, residents vote for a specific party rather than for the individual candidate. Members of the Chinese legislative branch are elected by people's congresses.
ReplyDeleteA lack of knowledge with regard to one's own country can, of course, lead to faulty decision-making. However, this assumes that all major powers of the world are democracies, which is simply not the case. Even if it were, once the voting process is completed citizens of a particular country have somewhat little say in governmental decisions made on an international scale. Thus, I see ignorance as more of a national problem than an intercontinental difficulty.
Although I fail to see a strong connection between voter ignorance and International Politics, I do agree with the premise of your argument that ignorant people do vote. However, it isn't necessarily factual to say that the result of these uninformed votes is always negative. For instance, President Obama was elected, which as a liberal I can hardly view as folly. But to think that every vote cast for him was solely based on his policies and school of thought is false. He was elected partially for his political views, partially because he is African American, and partially because of his astounding charisma. Sadly modern day politics is based heavily on the charisma that a candidate exudes. Why was George W. Bush elected not once but twice? Because he had this odd school boy charisma that many people in America could identify with.
ReplyDeleteThe point here is that although ignorant people routinely make the wrong decisions, they also have a tendency to make the right one, even if it's pure luck.
I’m not sure how to respond to the issue of ignorance on a global level, but speaking for our country, it is unfortunate that so many members of American society remain ignorant when opportunities for intellectual growth are endless. What’s worse is that in a democratic society, where one is allowed to voice his/her opinions and beliefs, many do not even partake in this freedom. Not only are there uninformed members of society voting, there is also a significant number of citizens who simply choose not to vote.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I do not believe that a few votes, uninformed or not, can “ruin the entire political system.” Although citizens vote to elect leaders, they are not the ones making the ultimate decisions when it comes to policy making and international affairs. At the same time, ignorance is something that, luckily, can be corrected, and it is in the best interest of our state, nation, and global community, to address this concern. Moving forward, I support your belief in the importance of education. If we want members of society to contribute to the decision making process, we need to press for emphasis on producing educated, informed members of society.