"Upon seeing the facts and failing to act do we deserve the leaders we have?"
Rap News 6 had this line, and while it's a restatement of an old quote (Alexis de Tocqueville, author of Democracy in America, said that “in a democracy, the people get the government they deserve.”) I think it's a thought that's worth a sincere discussion.
Are we at fault? Do we deserve what we're getting? If we sit at our keyboards and do nothing but bitch online, at what point does the irresponsibility and lack of political engagement by our elders stop being a legitimate excuse? When does all of this become our fault, when do we lose the right to complain and have to accept that our own generation's inaction has become the prime enabler of these frauds and criminals and well-organized gangsters?
Just wanting the thoughts from all of you.
Posted Dec 19, 2010, 8:23 AM UTC
A democracy requires active participation from the public. All citizens are responsible for educating themselves about the issues and candidates before voting. My experience (as a recently naturalised American) has been that many young people don't vote and/or have very little understanding of what is going on in their nation and how this relates to the rest of the world.
We have ample food in this country, we have political stability, most people are relatively safe from harm and we have endless sources of entertainment to help us procrastinate about what we should be doing. We are more to blame for the current state of affairs than any politician exploiting flaws in the democratic process or any corporation paying to get their voice heard. Most people don't know and don't want to know because they're eating, have a place to stay etc. There's no need to change things because we're comfortable enough.
Edit: grammar
It isn't just the young people who don't vote and/or educate themselves properly.