When Democracy Turns Lazy

The democratic process in the United States suffers from apathy - a lack of motivation, of interest, a lack of drive to pay attention, think critically, register, and vote. 

Ours is a comfortable society. As one immigrant exclaimed to me: "In this country, even the poorest people have cars."

And running water.

And electric power.

And cable.

And video games.

And enough money to purchase comfort food at McDonald's and KFC.

The benefits of living in the world's top economy go beyond a paycheck. 

- We all benefit from an aging but well-developed infrastructure. 

- Our military can throw its weight around virtually unchallenged. 

- We don't have to bribe a local official in order to acquire a driver's license.

Americans are addicted to comfort and convenience. 

Comfort, for the Right, comes in the form of round the clock voices in the media. Those voices reassure the Right that their fears are well founded their outrage is justified.

For the Left, comfort takes the form of bold candidates who rail against established norms and power structures. Those candidates reassure the Left that society can be reshaped more equitably if only we can prevail in the next election.

It's unlikely that either promise will bear much fruit. How many right wing candidates have promised to overturn Row v. Wade, for example? How many left wing candidates have promised immigration reform or radical changes in banking? 

The only promises that are met reliably in Washington are those made to the interests that fund the repeated elections of Congressmen. This is enabled, of course, by the aforementioned voter apathy.

The American political process makes real progress only when a significant portion of the population becomes involved and, more importantly, STAYS involved for the long term. 

The Civil Rights movement required a long and difficult campaign of grass roots support. 

Women's suffrage required a long and difficult campaign of grass roots support.

Change doesn't come easily. It requires sacrifice. A society that is addicted to comfort and convenience abhors sacrifice. Change will come only when the members of that society become sufficiently uncomfortable, when they look at the status quo and decide that they're not going to accept it any longer. When they decide that no cost is too great. 

In 2015, voter apathy led to the election of a Tea Party candidate as governor of Kentucky. The governor-elect promptly reduced the minimum wage in that state by $3/hour. Did the voters (or non-voters) of Kentucky get the message? Do they understand now that there are consequences to NOT voting?

Some states now have a single operating provider of legal abortions. Are the women in these states getting the message that they ignore the political process at their own peril?

The US government spends countless trillions of dollars on the military and on waging wars abroad. Yet veterans don't receive adequate health care, because Congress cuts funding for the Veterans' Administration. Do veterans and their families realize that they need to be active in the political process in order to protect their interests?

How much more do the citizens of the USA need to endure before they realize that they need to take a personal involvement in the management of their government?

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved