I am grateful that I live in a country where people have the right to vote.
I am concerned that I live in a country where huge sums of money are spent to influence the results of our elections. Wealthy individuals and large companies have a bigger say in the political arena than most citizens.
Consider that the “Total Cost of Election”, which includes Congressional Races and the Presidential Race, was over $5 billion in 2000 and over $18 billion in 2020. Crazy, right? Just imagine what else could be accomplished with this kind of money!
While people from other countries can spread disinformation that interferes with our election process, this is not the primary reason our elections are less than fair. Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition and the influence of platforms like Fox News mean that a lot of voters are not getting the factual information needed for making good decisions.
I have no problem with people having different opinions. That’s fine. But we should all be able to agree on basic facts. It’s a fact that Trump lost the 2020 election. It’s a fact that Trump did not lose the 2020 election due to “voting irregularities”. I am discouraged that people sometimes fail to acknowledge basic facts. Or to even be aware of them!
We live in different worlds.
In the early 1970’s, people mostly watched the same news programs. The fairness doctrine, introduced in 1949, required broadcasters to discuss controversial material with contrasting views. In 1987, the FCC abolished the fairness doctrine.
News became entertainment, getting viewers became more important than providing the information needed to make informed decisions, and political polarization blossomed.
The United States of America is not a representative democracy. We vote for representatives who do not truly represent many of our concerns.
It is my hope that we can someday live again in similar worlds, where we mostly agree on the basic facts. Then, our beliefs and actions can be rooted in reality.
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