I have not posted anything lately because I have not had many interesting and coherent thoughts join together. Some may argue that is nothing new, but I am not one of them.
Today in American History to 1865, however, Dr. Johnson said something which caused a number of thoughts in my mind to run into each other. The good Dr. Johnson proclaimed that the founding fathers of America considered what they were doing an experiment. He went on to say that this experiment in government is still running to this very day. For one brief moment, time stood still and what you are reading began to form in my mind. (You may ask how time could stand still for a "brief" moment, and I may then tell you to be quiet and read.)
Let us say for the moment that the America we live in is part of a political experiment. It is my belief that the experiment may soon (within the next 100 years or so) come to an end.
What's that you ask? How can I believe that the American political machine will come crashing down? Let me tell you.
People no longer think of differing political views as different opinions, but instead they think of them as character flaws. This is an observation I had known for quite some time, but I must think Mr. Pearson for putting it in words for me. The terms "liberal" and "conservative" are now used as insults, and a great many people now take offense if called either word.
Very few politicians will run for an office solely by promoting their own ideas and beliefs. Instead, we see massive amounts of mudslinging, name-calling, and immaturity. Politicians attack each other instead of debating their ideas. The first speech that I heard from the Republican National Convention was an attack on John Kerry. The same men and women who influence our nation spent a good amount of time mocking and laughing at Kerry while booing and hissing at his voting record. I did not see the Democratic National Convention, but I would almost bet that something along the same lines happened toward Bush. Both John Kerry's and George Bush's daughters were booed while making speeches at the MTV Video Awards. An organization that is proudly anti-Bush has made a comparsion between Bush and Hitler. American politics is no longer about choosing the best person for the job. It has degenerated to choosing the lesser of two evils.
Does this strike anyone else as being a horrible way to elect anyone into a position of power? Over the last couple of decades America has become polarized in the realm of politics. Many claim that Bush is "a divider, not a uniter," but I think that same claim would be made if anyone else had been in office for this term. A large number of people do not seem to think that, however, and they seem to be fueling the giant hate-machine that is the 2004 election.
How long will it be before the American people are disgusted with current politics? How long will it take before people begin to consider extremist groups seriously? How long before some form of dictator is put into power?
I can hear many of you now. "That will never happen in America! The people here are too smart for that!" If you think that, I want you to consider a few things. How many young (college-age) people do you know who truly care about history or politics? How many of these young people can carry on a conversation about politics without it sinking to insults towards those that disagree with them? How many of these young people could explain to you why communism, etc., is a bad idea? How many people do you know who have read the Constitution?
I know my answer to all of those is the same. "Only a few." The American government works on a system that requires the general masses to be educated. As a whole, we are not. If this generation is the future of America, I can only see a dismal sight.
I think the American experiment will be coming to an end within the next one hundred years. Please, someone prove me wrong.
Posted by Randy at August 31, 2004 02:27 PM | TrackBack*While watching the Republican National Convention.*
You've hit it right on the head, Randy. Precisely right. I watched the early democrat debate, and was really annoyed that it was not a debate in any shape or form. The "moderators" went around to each candidate and asked a *different* question. There was no discussion, just asking different questions to different candidates. Most of the answers were "not like Bush" or something very oriented around bashing Bush. And, like you say, the republican debates are no better...
Reminds me a lot of Christian denominations mocking each other.
Posted by: eliot at August 31, 2004 09:54 PMI think I've been predicting something like this for a while. I've said things along similar lines to this in the past, except I was seeing an eventual breakdown of the Union into several countries based on the regional breakdown of political thought. Needless to say, I had quite a few people shouting me down when I tried to state this in a class at the good old LU. Something about "How dare you stereotype a region's political thought. Not EVERYONE there is like that." Amusingly enough, this was stated by someone originally from the same region (Southern California) as I am originally from.
Posted by: Gillis at September 1, 2004 07:08 AMYou know why there isn't much issue debate at the RNC? The Republicans have chosen to go with an incumbent, thus there's really little more to do than to 1) Formally choose him as the candidate and 2) Advance his political position. Given the nature of this particular incumbent and the contested results of the 2000 election, it's not surprising to me, the huge amount of personal attacks that are being made on either candidate. Whether the attacks have merit or not is entirely up to you, as you are John Q. Voter.
Posted by: Chorley at September 1, 2004 12:07 PMMonsieur Randy,
Please pardon a comment from an old but interested fogey: As I am sure you are aware, mudslinging has been around for a long time. http://www.wnpt.net/rachel/campaign/mudsling.html
The very fact that our nation survived 8 years of Bill Clinton is testimony to the fact that one need never dispair.
Yes, there is a lot of ignorance walking around in the shape of human beings. One need only see a few segments of "Jaywalking" to confirm that notion. But, there are also many informed and concerned collegiate types (e.g. yourself, Wilson) who give people like me reason to hope.
Not to be forgotten is the small but ever increasing cadre of homeschoolers, who, on the whole, have more political and historical cognizance. (of course, it is possible I am slightly prejudiced :-)
Let not your heart be troubled, and keep pluggin' away.
Posted by: maman d'Ardith at September 2, 2004 01:49 PM