Politics as Usual (1/10/03)
by Dean Hartwell
Six Democrats have announced their
candidacy for president or are expected to do so soon.
With so many candidates, one may wonders how the voters
will learn to distinguish the candidates and their
ideas.
Voters often rely upon television commercials, news
shows and articles in newspapers. Each of these can
serve as a resource on political matters, but they all
lack one thing: feedback.
In other words, if a voter wants to ask questions about
an issue or a position that a candidate takes, they
cannot ask the television set or the newspaper. Which
leaves them lacking the information that they need to
make a good decision at the polls.
Where can voters go to interact with people about
politics?
They can attend political meetings. I recently tried to
set up a meeting about political matters with my local
Democratic club.
So, I contacted the library, which has a large
auditorium that serves as meeting places for other
organizations. To my surprise, they told me that the
auditorium was off limits to clubs with a “political
agenda.”
Who doesn’t have a “political agenda”?
Just about everything in our society is about
popularity. Television producers design their best
shows for “sweeps”, when ratings and money for
commercials are determined. Car dealers brag that their
dealership sold the most Toyotas or Fords in the last
year in an attempt to lure more customers. Movies that
attract the most viewers stay the longest at the
theaters.
Even libraries have political agendas. Someone must
determine which books the library will put on its shelf
and which ones will not. Someone has to decide the
library's hours, based upon the needs of the public.
And, obviously, someone must decide which groups may
meet on its premises and which ones may not.
A library, by its very definition, serves as a source of
information. How ironic that it would turn our request
to use their facilities down and deprive voters of a way
to become educated as to what they will vote on.
It is no wonder that so many people say they are turned
off about politics. People have no way to communicate
with those running for office about ideas. Not
surprisingly, we often elect politicians whom we
perceive to be out of touch about issues we care about.
Without the willingness of establishments to open their
doors and allow for the free discussion of political
ideas on their premises, the voters are doomed to a
future of attack ads, slick slogans and politics as
usual.