Sunday, April 10, 2011

Something to say about..."Citizenship"

I read in recent weeks about how 38% of our citizens could not pass this Citizenship Quiz. 38% of our citizens, nearly 4 out of every 10 Americans could not get 54 out of 96 questions right!

This reminds me of Jay Leno's "Jay-Walking" where he asks random people questions like, "Who is the Vice President now?" or "What are the three branches of Government?" or "Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?". The audience laughs as they watch people stumble through and answer the questions incorrectly.

It also reminds me of many radio reporters who go out prior to a Presidential election, and ask people who they are planning on voting for. Once somebody gives their response, the reporter attempts to find out WHY that person is voting the way they are. But here's the kicker: the reporter affirms the opposing candidate's views! Time and again, Americans blatantly display their ignorance about any of the issues, policies, or plans of the candidates in the race--for President of the United States--by affirming the views of the opposing candidate as something they stand for! So, by ignorance--or apathy--thousands upon thousands of Americans expressly declare their intent to vote for a Presidential candidate who does NOT represent their views!

In my view, none of this is funny. It is instead shameful, terribly disconcerting, and a terrible indictment on our citizenry. We blame our politicians for the policies they implement. We curse our politicians for the rampant, entrenched corruption that seems to stain most all of them. We point our fingers at our elected leaders and curse them for the circus that is Washington, D.C. (which, by the way, is the capital of The United States of America). And yet, it is through our ignorance--a consequence of both our apathy about, and laziness towards civic matters--that such leaders come to power, stay in power, and diminish this nation's goodness, power, and prosperity. Shame...on us! We can do better. And we must. Soon.

"Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand."

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jack. This is Katie (Ryan's sister). Totally agree. My friend once told me that those who vote in local elections basically hold the power to change their local politics because NO ONE votes in local elections. Her statement has encouraged me to vote in every single local election, because, well, I like power.

    ReplyDelete