The book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” written by Robert Fulghum in 1989, told us that the most important things in life we learned at an early age. Holding hands for safety is one. Listening to the teacher is another. Being kind to others earned the same treatment in return. And so on.
Life experience teaches us more. One is the world is a
dangerous place. Another: not all people can be trusted. Still another: what looks
good isn’t always what it truly is.
2020 is a year of stark lessons. One of those lessons is looking
healthy often covers illness spread swiftly. Another: saying it is so does not
make it so. Still another: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on
me.
Of course, this is oversimplification. I suggest the deeper:
democracy is a great gift to mankind; democracy too often is impossible to
maintain.
Doubt me? Consider then the crux of the problem: democracy
requires informed citizens to make rational decisions and vote accordingly. What
are the snags in that equation? Well, let’s see what they might be.
Informed requires reading, discussing, researching
facts to support what is believed. This takes effort and discipline. Do voters
take the time and spend the energy doing this? Doubtful all do. Most probable
only 30% do. What damage then to democracy is done by the 70%?
Rational decisions lead to logical points of
understanding. Being rational means being clear on what is the topic under
review, and what is the process our thinking takes to understand the topic in
the broader context of our society? What then should we be doing with this
understanding? If the electorate does not use rationality or logic with the
facts learned, then what sort of election results should we expect? Poorly informed
voters don’t have the bits and pieces with which to make rational decisions.
They think they are rational, but they are dealing with an incomplete thought;
therefore a conclusion is not possible.
Vote accordingly is a natural flow of logic and
process. We have already seen that is impossible if the facts are not known or
logically trusted to be correct. For example, American democracy has long
accepted that society in general gives up some personal freedom to gain ample
benefit for the well-being of the greater citizenry. Thus, we authorize a
military to maintain the safety and security of the nation’s people. We give up
some personal income to pay for this, and many other things like education,
health standards, safety nets like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Authorizing such benefits and then not funding them is not a rational action. Realizing
health and safety of children and families is a must yet underfunding the agencies
that respond to such needs is a failure to perform the promise of our values.
The three elements – informed, rational decisions, voting
accordingly – taken together require a commitment to do the work and follow
through action required.
Clearly that is not being done. The FDA, the CDC, and the
overall healthcare industry is working hard to safeguard the American public
from the Coronavirus pandemic. Yet voters campaign on illogical actions that
spread the virus. The values, logic, research and discipline are not completed.
The effort is not invested. Only emotion and ideology are exercised. The results
are apparent.
Democracy is not a popularity contest. Facts remain facts
whether a majority believe them or not. Denying reality has deeper roots in the
American psyche than commonly believed.
It’s time to teach civics again in our schools. Might that
help improve the core of diligent voters to more than 30%?
October 7, 2020
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