The Politics of Apathy

The Politics of Apathy
We as a nation have become extremely lazy when it comes to our vote. Most of us will select a political candidate based on the political party alone, never having done any research into their actual political positions or policy proposals. Others of us will actually listen to what a candidate has to say and vote based on that. Still, most of those that listen to one candidate will do just that, listen to only one candidate and never bother to listen to the policies and positions of the other (or others depending on your taste in parties). Then there will be some that actually listen to both, watch the debates, do their research, ask questions, and even discuss with others to get a spectrum of opinions of the candidates. Which of these scenarios do you think that the founding fathers would have found most favorable?
Well, for those of us that have actually met and talked with the founding fathers, we would know that we should look at both candidates, weigh our decision carefully, watch the debates, and talk amongst ourselves. The only person alive today that actually talked with the founding fathers is Senator John McCain, so we should just ask him. I am joking of course. However, the founding fathers did want the American electorate to be knowledgeable of the candidates and their positions. Why else do you think that they originally wanted to limit the voting rights to white, male, property holders? Their logic was that these people were "in the know" when it came to politics; they possessed higher levels of education and therefore would be better able to understand policies and positions. The founding fathers’ greatest fear was an uneducated electorate. Eventually (and rightfully so) we expanded voting rights to other groups. Blood, sweat, and tears have been shed for the right to vote and we so quickly disregard this right as little more than "annoying". A true patriot not only votes, but they take it one step further and vote smart (smart meaning educated on the issues and candidates running for office). How many of us can actually say that we do that?
I for one can say that this is my first election voting smart. Studies suggest that we will more-often-than-not vote similar to our parents. I did. I voted identical to my parents when I reached voting age. I would often ask my parents who they were voting for, although it really didn’t matter, they were going to for one political party consistently every time. It really would not surprise me to know that they voted straight ticket in every election. My father watched news reports intently during election time and has always been openly critical of new reports. He did his research. I failed to. I was using what are called heuristics. Heuristics are things that we use to kind of skip over the fact finding process; it speeds up decision making. My heuristic was my parent’s political party identity. I knew how they voted and thereby thought that was the candidate that rightfully deserved my vote. I did not have to spend a lot of time researching their positions or promises. Did I make a good use of my time? At the time it certainly felt like it was a good use of my time. I did my patriotic act, but not as well as I could have. In my defense, it was better than the individuals that did not vote at all.
But I digress, we all use heuristics. At some point in time, we have learned something and later in life, if in a similar situation, we have a basis of knowledge on how to approach the situation. If you burn your hand when pulling a pot off the stove because you don’t have a pot holder, then next time you use a pot holder. In much the same way, I think that there are a lot of people out there that feel burned by the current administration. Before you go out and vote November 4th for your picks for President, Vice President, Senate, House, etc., etc., maybe we should all do some research to see who the real candidate for change is. Ask questions. Go online and look up policy positions. Read the policy positions of both candidates. Don’t just select a Democrat or Republican because you think they offer hope, select them because you know they offer hope. Find one that fits best with your opinions and ideas. Impress your friends with how much you know. Go to the polls and cast your decision. Then stand behind whoever wins that night (or in a few months in the case of the 2000 election) because this person inherits a lot of problems that have no easy solutions. With the current state of things; declining economy, credit crisis, terrorism, war, bankruptcy, social security, medical costs, increasing national debt (just to name a few), can we really afford not to?