Is this proof that democracy doesn't work?
Let me explain that a bit. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not happy with the outcome of the election. By no means am I a party line Democrat. I can't really say that I'm upset that John Kerry isn't in office. I can say that I'm upset that President Bush still is. I dislike his assault on civil liberties in particular, he's too socially conservative for my tastes, I dislike his cowboy approach to international policy, etc. My views are much more libertarian, but not to the extreme they insist on campaigning on. If they could put someone up who would reduce the role of government but provide some protection against the damage human nature could do to the free market, I'd be all for it. Obviously, this is a whole other debate, and I'm straying from the point I wanted to make.
I don't think that the majority of votes cast in this election were cast by adequately informed voters. Most votes were the product of smear, fear, and pandering to whatever issues would get the crowd spun up at the time. Few people put the effort in to make completely informed decisions, and even fewer lack the fortitude to trade an unfavorable view on an emotional issue for a favorable one on a dry, intellectual one. But you know what? That's fine. We live in a republic, which means that we don't vote on the issues, we vote for people to make decisions for us. That includes who should lead the country. The simple fact is that most people in this country are not qualified to determine who would do a good job in a role like the President. I'm definitely not qualified. But I, and the rest of the country, am qualified to pick someone who I think will do a good job of representing my interests when making that decision. This is exactly what the electoral college is supposed to be about. We vote for electors, then they all get together and talk about it for a while, and then they vote. It's really a pretty ingenious system.
Democracy, where individuals vote on the issues directly, simply doesn't work on this large of a scale. There's too much inclination to vote for self-betterment while neglecting the needs of the whole, not to mention the difficulty in communicating the issues effectively. Not to mention the sheer number of issues that our governors face each year.
As far as I'm concerned, a big reason the system is so messed up today is because of the existance of political parties. They exist solely to try to sum a complex set of values up into a single word to make it easier on the voters to pick people to associate with. In my opinion, this largely removes the incentive to learn about the candidates stance on the issues. That, and the amazing ability of a candidate to turn his opponents views on highly complicated, nuanced issues into a single inflammatory bullet point.. I don't really think Bush and Kerry are all that different. Look at the issues that we've been debating for this election. Gay marriage, abortion rights, whether or not we should be the policemen of the world. We're not debating things like what restrictions its acceptable to place on personal liberty in the name of safety, what the appropriate role of corporations is in the public process, or how to go about our overseas security. Except for the war, I think they're basically the same guy on everything that matters. But you can't sell voters on complicated issues. But you can convince 22% of them that the country is going to be destroyed because two men want to get married, and hope they look away while the country goes bankrupt while we fight a war we can't win. Yes, the other issues are important, but in theory, the President has very little influence over the laws in this country. It's too bad people don't put the same effort into voting for congress as they do the president..
If you're motivated by this election to engage yourself in the politcal process, don't do it to help the Democrat's get a grip on to how communicate with people. If the Democrats fail as a party, its fine with me. Instead, work to restore the things that are lacking in the system. We need to limit the influence of corporations in elections. Level the field so that all candidates, not just two, can compete fairly. Improve the voting process (voting machine accuracy and accountability). Work to get approval voting adopted. Campaign for direct election of the electoral college, or at least direct the state to have them to vote proportionally. Figure out how to inform voters. Somebody needs to.
End rant. Begin weekend.
I don't think that the majority of votes cast in this election were cast by adequately informed voters. Most votes were the product of smear, fear, and pandering to whatever issues would get the crowd spun up at the time. Few people put the effort in to make completely informed decisions, and even fewer lack the fortitude to trade an unfavorable view on an emotional issue for a favorable one on a dry, intellectual one. But you know what? That's fine. We live in a republic, which means that we don't vote on the issues, we vote for people to make decisions for us. That includes who should lead the country. The simple fact is that most people in this country are not qualified to determine who would do a good job in a role like the President. I'm definitely not qualified. But I, and the rest of the country, am qualified to pick someone who I think will do a good job of representing my interests when making that decision. This is exactly what the electoral college is supposed to be about. We vote for electors, then they all get together and talk about it for a while, and then they vote. It's really a pretty ingenious system.
Democracy, where individuals vote on the issues directly, simply doesn't work on this large of a scale. There's too much inclination to vote for self-betterment while neglecting the needs of the whole, not to mention the difficulty in communicating the issues effectively. Not to mention the sheer number of issues that our governors face each year.
As far as I'm concerned, a big reason the system is so messed up today is because of the existance of political parties. They exist solely to try to sum a complex set of values up into a single word to make it easier on the voters to pick people to associate with. In my opinion, this largely removes the incentive to learn about the candidates stance on the issues. That, and the amazing ability of a candidate to turn his opponents views on highly complicated, nuanced issues into a single inflammatory bullet point.. I don't really think Bush and Kerry are all that different. Look at the issues that we've been debating for this election. Gay marriage, abortion rights, whether or not we should be the policemen of the world. We're not debating things like what restrictions its acceptable to place on personal liberty in the name of safety, what the appropriate role of corporations is in the public process, or how to go about our overseas security. Except for the war, I think they're basically the same guy on everything that matters. But you can't sell voters on complicated issues. But you can convince 22% of them that the country is going to be destroyed because two men want to get married, and hope they look away while the country goes bankrupt while we fight a war we can't win. Yes, the other issues are important, but in theory, the President has very little influence over the laws in this country. It's too bad people don't put the same effort into voting for congress as they do the president..
If you're motivated by this election to engage yourself in the politcal process, don't do it to help the Democrat's get a grip on to how communicate with people. If the Democrats fail as a party, its fine with me. Instead, work to restore the things that are lacking in the system. We need to limit the influence of corporations in elections. Level the field so that all candidates, not just two, can compete fairly. Improve the voting process (voting machine accuracy and accountability). Work to get approval voting adopted. Campaign for direct election of the electoral college, or at least direct the state to have them to vote proportionally. Figure out how to inform voters. Somebody needs to.
End rant. Begin weekend.