Topic: Democracy
Ignorance & Apathy - Twin Threats to Liberty Ignorance and apathy among the citizenry has dire consequences for the Republic.by Alexander Massa
(libertarian)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Ignorance and apathy covers America like a foul plague. This trend of general unintelligence and cluelessness when it comes to politics is growing, and growing fast. Therefore, it is imperative that we recognize the root of this problem and deal with it, before it gets too late. Unfortunately, we are rapidly approaching the point of no return. Today in America, more people know batting average statistics than can name who the Secretary of State is; a truly terrifying fact.
When did ths all start? It's really anyone's guess, but I'd say that it started in the late 1980s, when the original MTV generation was forming. When America's youth started caring more about watching television and playing baseball than they did about anything else was when America's descent into Hell began. While many would argue that the youth of America have always been ignorant, it is much worse now than it was in the past. Today's culture of instant gratification with things like the Internet have only accelerated this trend.
Another interesting and horrifying factor is that the ignorance of youth has now extended to all different age groups. Nowadays, some Baby Boomers are just as unintelligent and apathetic as some college frat boys. You'd think that years of life experience would teach people what is important in life, but many people just don't care about politics and what goes on in Washington, regardless of their age.
The root of this problem is corruption in Washington. If people don't think that their votes really count and that fraud goes on, people feel as though they shouldn't waste their time with elections and politicians. While there may be serious problems with corruption in Washington, giving up certainly won't fix anything. If anything, that would embolden them and further build up their false sense of invincibility.
If the people become energized and actually get involved in the political affairs of the nation, they can regain the power they seem to have lost. Becoming apathetic is not the answer to problems. Becoming increasingly vigilant and even more interested is the way to solve the problems we face today. America's problems aren't going to go away if we simply sit on our recliners and watch baseball all day. That's a surefire way to destroy the nation, and many people are helping to do just that with their disgustingly apathetic behavior. They think that they are punishing the politicians by ignoring them. If anything, apathetic citizens are only hurting themselves by not being involved in the political process. After all, their liberty is at stake, not the liberty of the corrupt politicians; they could care less about our liberty. That is exactly why we need to educate ourselves and get involved in the world around us. Tuning out the world and ignoring politics is a good way to usher in a totalitarian state in America, because if we are not vigilant of the excesses of government, they will continue to break the law and violate the Constitution, and their crimes will only grow bolder.
Fixing this problem will be a monumental task; whether or not it can even be fixed at this point is unknown. But, for sure, we need to start with the youth. The older individuals who are steeped in their ignorance and apathy will not be easily changed. However, if we can get kids involved and interested in the political process, we may have a shot at saving our country and restoring the Republic.
The twin evils of ignorance and apathy are the archenemies of Liberty. People must remember that tyranny is only aided and abetted by people who are apathetic about politics and the world around them. If you stick your head in the sand, the totalitarians among us will slowly but surely rise to power, and when you finally do wake up, it'll be too late to do anything. So wake up today, America, for tomorrow may be too late. The Republic is hanging in the balance now. Whether or not it survives is up to us. Will we make the right decisions from now on? No one knows, but the future looks grim.
May God save us and may He bless America!
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The views expressed in this
article are those of Alexander Massa only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Alexander Massa is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
A co-worker of mine, a man in his late 20's, once told me that the outcome of a hockey game was more important to him than the outcome of a presidential election. I was shocked. But I suppose it proves your point. You are quite correct in your assessment of the situation. Beyond that the few who do care are frequently only interested in getting free stuff from government. I have no idea how to awaken either the sleepers or the free-stuffers, and trust me I've tried.
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