In his last op-ed piece before going on book leave from his columnist position at the New York Times, Frank Rich addresses the lack of respect for truth in current American culture. I can not link to the piece here because the Times charges for on-line access to Rich’s columns.
Besides talking about the recent case of James Frey’s fictionalization of his life, promoted as non-fiction, Rich mentions many instance of such abuses in the country’s political life.
He mentions that a recent Harris poll found that 22 percent of Americans still believe that Saddam helped plan 9/11, a notion that was not exactly discouraged by the Bush administration in its promotions of its invasion of Iraq.
Democracy is not about letting elected officials govern as they may. It is about actively participating in the governing process. Given the way U.S. society currently behaves, it needs to be relentlessly told that truth.
A lawyer should never show up for a court date uninstructed about the facts of the case for obvious reasons, and it is just as obvious that voters in a democracy should not go to the voting booths without a thorough understanding of the facts of the most important issues of the day.
Many times, of course, it is not possible to determine facts in a case. But in those cases where it is not possible, one has, actually, determined that as a fact in itself, if one’s perceptions are accurate.
In the case of Saddam Hussein it has been demonstrated beyond all doubt that he had nothing to do with the planning of the 9/11 attacks. It is preposterous and disgraceful that 22% of Americans still believe Hussein was involved. Prior to the 2004 elections, that number was hovering in the 50% range, meaning that the same percentage of people who seem to have voted for Bush were nursing that errant belief, though the evidence was already very readily available.
Obviously, Bush and his ensigns are not motivated to change this lamentable aspect of the electorate. The administration counts on misinformation being absorbed and considered true by a sufficient number of Americans. It is empowered by these voters’ mental laziness
There should be public education announcements and campaigns instructing voters that they have a duty to apply critical thinking to their considerations of the important issues of the day. Examples of the foolishness among voters should be given, in some cases as revealed in opinion polls, and each foolish example should be debunked then and there with the facts of the case showing why the foolishness is so foolish.
I recall from several different levels of formal education that there were often fellow students who, though they had not done an assigned reading, forcefully expressed (unjustifiable) opinions about the materials assigned to be read. The lazy dunderheads with those habits grew up to be the kind of voters who don’t bother to sufficiently educate themselves about the important issues of the day. They have imperiled our country through their selfish laziness and stupidity. They should be shamed out of their deep-seated habits.