Voter apathy will sound the death-knell for American Democracy. In fact, voter apathy is the reason our government is so messed up.
It's 2008, a year that is divisible by four, and you know what time of the decade that is! Election time!
Yay?
We Americans hold our elections for president every four years and, like clockwork, we're subjected to the same pattern. Months and months of buildup, gratuitous amounts of media coverage, televised debates, epic amounts of ass-talking punditry, and watching as each candidate's ego gets progressively larger. With the amount of attention our media pays to the elections, you would think that we- the people- consider this to be the most awesomely important thing to ever happen to us; it's as if Jesus himself had returned from Heaven, started a metal band, and kicked off the "Rock of Salvation Tour".
Sadly, we the people don't seem to give a shit. In stark contrast to the amount of media hype that goes into the Presidential Race, less than half of Americans really care, or at least care enough to participate in the electoral process. Voter apathy is killing our democracy, is the poison of our Republic, and will eventually doom us all. I fear that if the people continue to let their government run unchecked, it'll run our collective ass over.
Why are we letting this happen? Why are people so content to whine about how horrible our elected officials are, yet are hesitant to actually do something about it? I don't get it. All throughout school, I was taught to believe that democracy is the "best" form of government, that it gives everyone an equal say in official policy. We're bombarded with pseudo-patriotic drivel about how we should be thankful that we have a democratic/republic style government. To be honest, we kind of are. Our style of government has inherent checks and balances put in place to keep balance between the the branches of government, and protect the people from the possibility of a Neo-Draconian tyrant consolidating all power into a single branch of government and plunging us into the pit of oppression. The system is as perfect as it can get...in theory.
But...what happens when the biggest check of them all fails to do its duty?
It seems that there is no way to evade people complaining about politics.
"Our rights are being taken away!"
"Our votes don't matter anymore!"
"Our elected leaders suck!"
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't our democratic/republic supposed to be a "government of the people, by the people, for the people"? It's been said that government should be afraid of its people; but what happens when the people lose their will to control their government? What happens when the people lay down?
The biggest check against Executive Authority is, and always has been, the will of the people, and when the people fail to control their government, the government will come to control them. That's the fundamental basis of democracy, and should be the idea at the forefront of every American during election time.
Now, when I say "we the people", I'm not talking about any particular group of people. Not conservatives, not liberals, not this generation, not the previous generation.
No, when I say we, I mean all of us, our culture in which we've been brought up in, and the society that we've become. The reason the government is so out of control and corrupt is because the people stopped giving a shit.
Though, when you think about it, why should we care? A great many of us have jobs, housing, and some modicum of comfort in our lives. Our culture is rife with distractions that pull our attention away from "boring and trivial" matters such as politics- reality television, games, music, movies, online surveys- and the populace, with its rapidly declining attention span, just doesn't seem to be bothered to pay any real attention to anything anymore. As George Carlin put it, "We're too prosperous for our own good. American's are too fat and happy..."
But, there's the matter of people starving to death, living in the streets because they've been screwed by society. Our civil rights are being ripped away from us while we sleep. The brainwashing clusterfuck that is the media keeps us sedated, and only offers us tidbits of what they want us to see.
Sure, we'll get upset with something our government has done from time to time, but that's only because the news media has presented it to us in a way that is measured to incite anger amongst us. Barring the most opportune circumstances, what do we actually do about it? Most of the time...not a god-damn thing. We'll shout, we'll be angry, we'll hold protests and demonstrations (even then, these people are a minority), but when the time to affect real change comes, where are all of the super patriots?
"I'm too busy making sure my project is ready for the boss."
"I don't have time to do any fruitful research into the candidate's proposed policies."
"It's boring, American Idol's on!"
"Why bother doing anything? It won't change a thing."
People, listen the hell up. This is the attitude our "leaders" want us to have. They want us to be apathetic. They want us to stop caring. It's easier to control a disenfranchised yet dementedly contented populace than one who pays attention to the workings of our government, and holds these assholes accountable for everything they done.
This- THIS- is why we have a Democracy. We, the people, are responsible for what our leaders do. We're responsible because it's from our politically based actions that decide who gets into office. Stop with all of the "my vote doesn't count" bullshit. Quit with all of the "this country has been bought and paid for!" nonsense. Stop fucking whining so much and actually DO SOMETHING about it. Make your vote count. Help make your neighbor's vote count. Help make your community's vote count.
Go and actually do some research on your candidates, find one you're comfortable with, vote in your local representative elections. Only through a massive civil undertaking can we reverse the stranglehold money and corruption has on our government. But, most importantly, let's begin really holding the assholes accountable for everything they've done. Let's show these people just how pissed of we are about how much they've been screwing us over.
The more apathetic we become, the stronger the government becomes; the stronger the government becomes, the weaker the people are. Let's show these fuckers in Washington that they answer to us, not the other way around.
