Society hurt by ignorant voters

Coming off an election year where we had a fairly calm presidential campaign in terms of competition and a Congress that moved even further toward partisanship, we have seen a persistent trend that has plagued this country for decades.

Eric Thieleman

That plague is ineptitude. Not just any ineptitude, but a kind that is destroying our country. I am not speaking of the relatively inept voters who elect our nation’s policymakers but rather the policymakers themselves.

The voters only vote for who they hear about from the media, which are generally Democrats or Republicans.

There is faith to have in the citizens of the United States; however, many have worked to prove that fact wrong. There is no faith to be had in the political leaders we have today.

The reality is that the American people have to get up every morning, go to work, pay their bills and provide for their families. This fact never changes. While our political “leaders” will come and go, the people will always have to work and support their families.

The United States really hasn’t had a leader in any branch of government that has done the simple task endowed upon them: leading. Former president George W. Bush didn’t, President Barack Obama hasn’t, and the people should fear that they might never again see an official who has the frame of mind to lead a nation.

There may be some in Congress who have the right idea and look to guide this country, not control it. The problem is, because they look to guide it and not to control it, they never reach the office from which they can lead.

It can be said that in today’s world, no president elected under the current political system will be a leader, and will not look out for the best interest of America. Now that I have laid out such a grim scenario, which happens to be the current status of America, what can be done about it? A sentiment that has rung true throughout time was restated by one of the world’s most despised men: “What luck for rulers that men do not think.” That line was uttered by Adolph Hitler, and while we may despise him, he was correct on this issue.

The typical voter in America does not educate themselves on the choices available to them. Many people actually do not know and others choose not to pay attention.

Before you think yourself to be exempt from this group, ask yourself this: Can you name three people who were on the ballot for president who weren’t Obama or Sen. John McCain? If you can do that, could you pick them out of a lineup? If you could, can you state some basic information about their platforms or pasts?

If you can answer “yes” to all three of these, then you could be called an educated voter. If you cannot, I don’t think I have to say what you are.

The fact is nearly 1.2 million people were educated enough to see that neither Obama nor McCain were competent enough to lead the country. They chose to vote for one of the other 22 presidential candidates.

This is not another feeble attempt at bringing up why Ralph Nader should be allowed in debates or how a third party could win if everyone stopped believing they have no chance. This is meant to open your eyes to how you are being stripped of your rights.

Yes, you are being stripped of your rights — not by the government in this scenario as in so many others, but rather, by yourselves. By giving no credence to any other candidate than the two, corporate-funded, bought-and-paid-for candidates, you have given away your right to vote for actual change.

By change I am not talking about the liberal agenda of Obama or the dribble coming from the Republicans to counter it. I am talking about a new way of thinking about politics.

Revolution is the word used to describe it at times, but it is generally tainted with the idea of violence rather than the mass changing of thought by the public. Instead of arguing whether taxes should be higher to fund government programs, or lower to allow the people to keep more money, let’s ask ourselves if the taking of money to give to others is justified in the first place.

The gloom fate of our nations will not change until we step out of the media-induced two-party system and step into the reality of the world.

Real change will come from real leaders, not from media and corporate sellouts with no sense of self-dignity such as our president and his Republican counterparts. It takes real leaders to lead real people, but first it is the duty of those real people to elect the real leaders.

Eric Thieleman is a State News guest columnist and a political science senior. Reach him at thielem4@msu.edu.