On Civics and Presidential Politics
The fact that Donald Trump is actually being considered as a serious candidate to be the next president of this country is so outrageous to me, but not surprising, based on the direction this country is going culturally.
Last March I wrote about the lack of civility in the presidential campaign. At that time, I was really hoping that the GOP would come to their senses and NOT allow Trump to become their nominee.
I guessed wrong, but, again, not surprising. Low-information America has officially become mainstream and acceptable.
I wrote:
…Because [Trump] knows that many Americans today don’t invest in basic civics education and are not getting most of their news from anywhere beyond what they see on TMZ or People magazine, it seems like Trump is using this to his advantage to rally support. This is most likely why when he is in debates or speaking at his rallies, his policy positions lack any substance. I have even taken the time to read up on his policy “positions” on his website, which all look like smoke and mirrors. Immigration: build a wall? Terrorism: ban all Muslims? Immigration, terrorism and a plethora of other pressing issues can’t be solved with simplistic solutions…
I am so glad I am not the only one who noticed this lack of civics education. Foreign Policy writer Max Boot, who is a Republican, pointed out in a recent piece that the growing number of uninformed American voters can only have a negative impact on the future of this country’s democracy.
“…I now realize that I was being Pollyannaish. (For you recent graduates, that means “excessively optimistic.”) The longer this election season goes on, the more evidence we are seeing of the cost of the shocking ignorance inculcated by our system of schooling,” Boot says. “Late-night comedians have made a running joke out of this civic illiteracy with their ‘man on the street’ interviews with people who cannot, for example, identify pictures of John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, or Jimmy Carter. Surveys show that such ignorance is not out of the norm… When a New York Times reporter asked one college student if he wasn’t worried about repeating the 2000 scenario when Ralph Nader siphoned critical votes from Al Gore in Florida, this young scholar replied: “Ralph who?…”
Boot doesn’t just come down on Trump; he also points out the ignorance of Libertarian nominee Gary “Where’s Aleppo” Johnson. While increased funding for STEM education is vital for this country’s global economic survival, the author suggests that more funding also be put towards civics education, as it is literally a question of our democratic and moral survival. Did you know the U.S. government only spends about $6 million a year on civics education funding? Yeah, only $6 million!
Furthermore, most people in other countries are not only more informed about important issues happening in their countries, but also a lot of them tend to know more about American civics than Americans! I am always impressed by my many non-American friends and colleagues who can converse about many topics from history, government, politics, and other current events with ease.
You notice this quickly if you ever travel outside America. I recently traveled to Canada and Spain on business and just watching the local TV news or picking up a local newspaper and you will see the stark difference. Instead of a steady stream of useless, celebrity information about the Kardashians or “Brangelina,” journalism in these countries focus on real news that actually matters. My point here is that when you are better informed, you make better decisions.
We seriously have to change this lack of civics literacy, or we will continue to have more Donald Trump type candidates in the near future.