After $4 billion was spent this election season and under 38% of eligible voters voted in the midterm elections yesterday, with control of the Senate swapping parties as a result, I think it's safe to say our political system is broken.
We can try to call this a democracy all we'd like, but when between roughly 1/3 and 1/2 of eligible voters tend to decide this country's future, and are often times influenced by millions of dollars corporations spend misleading them, I'm sorry, but this isn't a democracy. For the most part, the people no longer decide; money decides. With a big helping hand from the Supreme Court and the Citizen's United ruling, this once proud "democracy" (or republic, I suppose) is becoming an oligarchy, and as sad as it is to say, it appears as if most people don't seem to realize or care about this. Many have given up any hope of having a legitimate voice in the election process, because their voice counts for just one vote, whereas corporations' outrageous spending counts for more votes than I'd care to admit. Many politicians, especially those on the right, may clamor away on how they believe in freedom and democracy and in representing the people, however, that's not entirely true. They may say this to earn votes, but what they really represent is the dollar, and the more money one has in their possession, the more carefully these politicians will listen.
Politics was supposed to be an avenue for people, whom wanted to do something positive for their communities, states, or country, to volunteer a certain number of years to try and give back to an area which provided them with so much and to help move the town, state, or country forward. It wasn't meant to be a career, where a person earned an easy six figures in salary, along with seemingly countless funds coming from lobbyists and special interests groups, which resulted in them campaigning more for re-election than actually doing what they promised leading up to their initial election and attempting to represent their constituents and improve their daily lives - to prove that, with hard work, they were worthy of that very election.
Anymore, politics comes across as 80% show-business and 20% work. It's rarely about working with people of different political persuasions, compromising, and doing everything in their power to improve this country; it's simply about finding a way to garner an edge for the next election. It's become a scam of extremely rich people telling those whom aren't as well off that, if they vote for them, their lives will improve, before not getting anything done while in office, excusing themselves of the matter by saying, "Politics is a nasty business and we're in gridlock," and then asking for another vote, saying, "Maybe what I promised the first time can happen this next time!" It's become an increasingly vicious cycle, where politicians and the wealthiest people in the country attempt to get everyone else to point fingers at one another for the increasing pay gap, unequal rights and opportunities, and all the other problems in the country, they continue to benefit as a result, and the rest of us continue to be victims of this cycle. The political system is broken, and unfortunately, that's good for the top 1% with the most money and influence, and bad for the other 99% of us, most of whom don't realize nor care what's unfolding.
As difficult as it will be to alter these awful trends, I still see a glimmer of hope of reversing course and finding a way to bring America back from an oligarchy to a democracy (or republic). Here are some changes which I think would help make that happen:
1) Reverse the Citizen's United ruling: For many years, politicians, especially on the left, have talked about getting big money out of politics. However, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of corporations being allowed to spend as much money as they'd like to influence elections, even Democrats have had to back away from those statements in an attempt to keep up with Republican spending in key elections. This has further increased "big money" influence on politicians, which has, in turn, decreased regular voters' influence.
2) Make it easier to vote: It's quite sad when just between 1/3 and 1/2 of voters decide which course this country should take. A big reason for this is the fact some Republicans have attempted to suppress the vote of minorities and even women, because those demographics tend to vote Democratic. Also, with the fact elections are still held on Tuesdays and some people work one or two jobs which prevents them from taking part, is another factor in the typically low turnouts. If we truly want for people's voices to be heard, to be a genuine democracy, we should be finding every way possible to encourage and increase voter turnout, rather than the direct opposite. Some states, like Oregon and Colorado, have decided to mail ballots to all voters, which has increased turnout. If IDs are mandatory, be more open on the matter, to student IDs and the like, so young people will be more prone to getting involved in the process. Also, if we must have elections on Tuesdays, make it a national holiday, so people don't have to worry about finding a small slot of time between work, their kids, school, etc., to go and cast their votes. It's ironic that July 4th is a national holiday, where people have off work to celebrate our independence as a "democracy," yet the day to actually take part in said democracy isn't a national holiday. Otherwise, hold election day(s) over the weekend, so more people have the opportunity to go out, uninterrupted by work, and make their voices heard at the polls.
3) Term limits for everyone: The longer politicians are in office, the more likely they are to treat their positions like careers, work for re-elections as opposed to working to prove they deserved to be elected in the first place, and of corruption. If we made term limits mandatory for members of the House and the Senate, like we do for the President and Governors, these politicians would likely feel a bigger sense of urgency to get things done early and often while in office. They couldn't slack off and say, "Well, I live in such a liberal/conservative district, I can just slack off this term, will surely get elected for a third term, and maybe I'll give this proposal a try at that point." As much as I'd hate to see a few Senators and Representatives limited in their years of volunteer work for the country, I think the pros would far outweigh the cons if this idea were initiated for members of Congress.
4) Shorten campaign season: This would kind of tie in with #3 on the list. However, I still think it's vitally important for politicians to spend more time actually working during their terms than to campaign for a possible next term. If these terms were limited, then this probably wouldn't be nearly as ubiquitous. It would also limit the amount of money spent on ads, which I think there's bipartisan agreement about - yes, there are way too many!
5) Give fact-checkers more airtime/give fines to "news" organizations whom report false or misleading news: While I think it's perfectly fine for politicians, radio show hosts, and cable "news" talking heads to have opinions about issues, I also feel it's wrong to mislead the public by claiming said opinions are facts. The line between opinion and fact has become so blurred in recent years, some seem to see them as interchangeable, when they are definitely not. Perhaps if certain individuals and organizations were fined for doing this, we'd start seeing/hearing less BS from both politicians and the media and would be able to engage in civilized discourse more frequently. Also, it'd be nice to see more fact-checkers given ample time to comment on statements made by politicians, especially following debates/during election season.
6) Decrease salaries and increase bonuses for good work: Lastly, if politicians received a smaller salary, they'd be less inclined to represent money and more inclined to represent the people they said they were going to before getting elected. However, while this may be difficult to implement, perhaps there'd be a way to provide politicians bonuses for good work. If test scores increase, infrastructure improves, jobs are created, the medium salary increases, college tuition costs decrease, etc., they could be rewarded for the positive changes.
As disappointed as I am with the election results from last night, I'm even more disappointed in the fact it appears as if this once proud "democracy" is turning into an oligarchy, how so few people seem to realize this or care, and how it seems most have given up on trying to make their voices heard and make a positive difference in this country. As disappointed as I am, though, perhaps naively so, I still think there's hope for the future, for us to reverse course, give people a stronger voice, and truly make this country once again the land of the "free" and the home of the brave.
We can try to call this a democracy all we'd like, but when between roughly 1/3 and 1/2 of eligible voters tend to decide this country's future, and are often times influenced by millions of dollars corporations spend misleading them, I'm sorry, but this isn't a democracy. For the most part, the people no longer decide; money decides. With a big helping hand from the Supreme Court and the Citizen's United ruling, this once proud "democracy" (or republic, I suppose) is becoming an oligarchy, and as sad as it is to say, it appears as if most people don't seem to realize or care about this. Many have given up any hope of having a legitimate voice in the election process, because their voice counts for just one vote, whereas corporations' outrageous spending counts for more votes than I'd care to admit. Many politicians, especially those on the right, may clamor away on how they believe in freedom and democracy and in representing the people, however, that's not entirely true. They may say this to earn votes, but what they really represent is the dollar, and the more money one has in their possession, the more carefully these politicians will listen.
Politics was supposed to be an avenue for people, whom wanted to do something positive for their communities, states, or country, to volunteer a certain number of years to try and give back to an area which provided them with so much and to help move the town, state, or country forward. It wasn't meant to be a career, where a person earned an easy six figures in salary, along with seemingly countless funds coming from lobbyists and special interests groups, which resulted in them campaigning more for re-election than actually doing what they promised leading up to their initial election and attempting to represent their constituents and improve their daily lives - to prove that, with hard work, they were worthy of that very election.
Anymore, politics comes across as 80% show-business and 20% work. It's rarely about working with people of different political persuasions, compromising, and doing everything in their power to improve this country; it's simply about finding a way to garner an edge for the next election. It's become a scam of extremely rich people telling those whom aren't as well off that, if they vote for them, their lives will improve, before not getting anything done while in office, excusing themselves of the matter by saying, "Politics is a nasty business and we're in gridlock," and then asking for another vote, saying, "Maybe what I promised the first time can happen this next time!" It's become an increasingly vicious cycle, where politicians and the wealthiest people in the country attempt to get everyone else to point fingers at one another for the increasing pay gap, unequal rights and opportunities, and all the other problems in the country, they continue to benefit as a result, and the rest of us continue to be victims of this cycle. The political system is broken, and unfortunately, that's good for the top 1% with the most money and influence, and bad for the other 99% of us, most of whom don't realize nor care what's unfolding.
As difficult as it will be to alter these awful trends, I still see a glimmer of hope of reversing course and finding a way to bring America back from an oligarchy to a democracy (or republic). Here are some changes which I think would help make that happen:
1) Reverse the Citizen's United ruling: For many years, politicians, especially on the left, have talked about getting big money out of politics. However, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of corporations being allowed to spend as much money as they'd like to influence elections, even Democrats have had to back away from those statements in an attempt to keep up with Republican spending in key elections. This has further increased "big money" influence on politicians, which has, in turn, decreased regular voters' influence.
2) Make it easier to vote: It's quite sad when just between 1/3 and 1/2 of voters decide which course this country should take. A big reason for this is the fact some Republicans have attempted to suppress the vote of minorities and even women, because those demographics tend to vote Democratic. Also, with the fact elections are still held on Tuesdays and some people work one or two jobs which prevents them from taking part, is another factor in the typically low turnouts. If we truly want for people's voices to be heard, to be a genuine democracy, we should be finding every way possible to encourage and increase voter turnout, rather than the direct opposite. Some states, like Oregon and Colorado, have decided to mail ballots to all voters, which has increased turnout. If IDs are mandatory, be more open on the matter, to student IDs and the like, so young people will be more prone to getting involved in the process. Also, if we must have elections on Tuesdays, make it a national holiday, so people don't have to worry about finding a small slot of time between work, their kids, school, etc., to go and cast their votes. It's ironic that July 4th is a national holiday, where people have off work to celebrate our independence as a "democracy," yet the day to actually take part in said democracy isn't a national holiday. Otherwise, hold election day(s) over the weekend, so more people have the opportunity to go out, uninterrupted by work, and make their voices heard at the polls.
3) Term limits for everyone: The longer politicians are in office, the more likely they are to treat their positions like careers, work for re-elections as opposed to working to prove they deserved to be elected in the first place, and of corruption. If we made term limits mandatory for members of the House and the Senate, like we do for the President and Governors, these politicians would likely feel a bigger sense of urgency to get things done early and often while in office. They couldn't slack off and say, "Well, I live in such a liberal/conservative district, I can just slack off this term, will surely get elected for a third term, and maybe I'll give this proposal a try at that point." As much as I'd hate to see a few Senators and Representatives limited in their years of volunteer work for the country, I think the pros would far outweigh the cons if this idea were initiated for members of Congress.
4) Shorten campaign season: This would kind of tie in with #3 on the list. However, I still think it's vitally important for politicians to spend more time actually working during their terms than to campaign for a possible next term. If these terms were limited, then this probably wouldn't be nearly as ubiquitous. It would also limit the amount of money spent on ads, which I think there's bipartisan agreement about - yes, there are way too many!
5) Give fact-checkers more airtime/give fines to "news" organizations whom report false or misleading news: While I think it's perfectly fine for politicians, radio show hosts, and cable "news" talking heads to have opinions about issues, I also feel it's wrong to mislead the public by claiming said opinions are facts. The line between opinion and fact has become so blurred in recent years, some seem to see them as interchangeable, when they are definitely not. Perhaps if certain individuals and organizations were fined for doing this, we'd start seeing/hearing less BS from both politicians and the media and would be able to engage in civilized discourse more frequently. Also, it'd be nice to see more fact-checkers given ample time to comment on statements made by politicians, especially following debates/during election season.
6) Decrease salaries and increase bonuses for good work: Lastly, if politicians received a smaller salary, they'd be less inclined to represent money and more inclined to represent the people they said they were going to before getting elected. However, while this may be difficult to implement, perhaps there'd be a way to provide politicians bonuses for good work. If test scores increase, infrastructure improves, jobs are created, the medium salary increases, college tuition costs decrease, etc., they could be rewarded for the positive changes.
As disappointed as I am with the election results from last night, I'm even more disappointed in the fact it appears as if this once proud "democracy" is turning into an oligarchy, how so few people seem to realize this or care, and how it seems most have given up on trying to make their voices heard and make a positive difference in this country. As disappointed as I am, though, perhaps naively so, I still think there's hope for the future, for us to reverse course, give people a stronger voice, and truly make this country once again the land of the "free" and the home of the brave.
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