This post is in response to the question “How does societal ignorance play a role in a country's fate towards practicing totalitarianism?” By @reagan.sturges
What a perfect term - “societal ignorance.” I believe this is a huge factor in the future direction of our government. A democracy operates on the notion that everyone has a voice. The only problem with this is that when generations are increasingly disengaged with the political world, the democracy is left in the hands of only a few. I am also guilty of this. I have never taken the time to fully understand politics because it has always appeared as such a tense and negative thing. As I am getting older, I am realizing how my outlook and the similar outlook of others is actually hurting us. We are not putting in the effort to be more aware and therefore, able to play a part in our government.
I believe that one way to shift the trend of increasing disengagement among the younger population is to have more unbiased news sources. Everyone is so extreme these days, so it is hard to trust anything in the media or even from the mouth of a friend. If we had a way to hear all sides of a story without spending countless hours cross referencing sources, then we could more easily keep up with what is happening in the world and in our political system. Of course this is only a piece of the puzzle. If we want to avoid totalitarianism, then we must begin to take responsibility by educating and representing ourselves.
Thank you for your great question, Reagan!
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I love how you focussed your response around engagement, or rather disengagement. I find that this is not only an issue prevalent amongst young voters but is also to be found amongst the older more apathetic electorate. For some, elections are viewed as platforms for the promulgation of what will become yet another merry-go-round of empty promises, campaigns clouded by controversy and corruption, and unclear confusing political ideology. So the easiest approach is simply to opt-out of voting. To me, this is a cop-out and I applaud your handling of the question and your insight in the final line of your response: "we must begin to take responsibility by educating and representing ourselves." Too many people have sacrificed too much for the rights of universal suffrage. It is up to citizens of western democracies to ensure we do justice to what was hard-won, by educating ourselves, doing our own research, and ensuring we play our part in the people's voice being heard through our vote and keep democracy alive and all hints of totalitarianism at bay.