Dumb-ocracy

Well, it’s that time again – the time where I think to myself, “Democracy – is it such a great idea?”
Now, now, settle down. And remember that mob violence flies in the very face of democracy. I, of course, love democracy. Yea, democracy! It’s just unfortunate that it spawns one of the most vile, despicable creatures on earth – political campaigns.
I am not sure when political campaigns evolved into their current unsavory status. My guess is that they have always been dirty, underhanded efforts (“Abe Lincoln: A man of values. Unlike Stephen Douglas, who once ate a kitten”). With the Internet and television, of course, the campaign weaselness has been catapulted to new highs (or lows, as it were).
That’s why this year, I challenge each and every one of you to take charge of our political system. Let’s stop letting people whose moral switch is set to “evil” fill us with the skewed knowledge when we elect our leaders. So let’s change a few things this year. Who’s with me? I call this the Mike Gibbons Election Year Challenge. I challenge you to:
1. Question everything. Next time a commercial comes on that says, “Bob Crabapple voted against small businesses...” don’t let them get away with it. Call up the offending campaigner and say, “Yeah, when exactly did Congress hold a thumbs-up/thumbs-down on whether people were for small business?” When they say, “Bob Crabapple wants to take away your right to...” call and ask for the bill number, and, if it exists, go read it and see what it really says. We have got to stop letting these people get away with saying ridiculous generalizations about their opponents.
2. Accept that things change. If you step out of your partisan shackles, you can logically see a couple of things. First, someone can vote for something and, later on down the line in the legislative process, vote against it. Happens all the time, since politicians change a bill more times than most people change socks in a lifetime. Second, someone can have you read his lips that he won’t do something, but then have to go back on his word. Plenty of fine people on this planet said “till death do us part” and went on to part ways. Things happen.
3. Accept that your guy is not perfect. You should not agree with everything your guy says. If you do, there is a problem. You should never agree completely with something another person says. My wife will attest to that.
4. Accept that the other guy is not pure evil bent on your destruction. For the most part, pure evil stays out of the political spotlight, instead lurking in the shadows, feasting on the flesh of freshly killed goats that have been snatched up from fields that the campaign bus travels by.
5. Your demographic is not under attack, so don’t let them convince you it is. Sure, as a nation we face a frightening enemy in terrorism. But the vast majority is far too busy to make hating a subset of society a priority. And don’t get me wrong – I know there are pockets of hate and prejudice in the world. But I feel confident that most people are just like you and me – just trying to make it through the day. We have some common enemies that we can all agree on. After that, people are just trying to scare you into voting for them.
The simple fact of the matter is that we are an incredibly uninformed group of voters, and we keep getting worse off by avoiding the hard part of doing the research. Instead, we let our politicians or talking heads tell us what to think. Let me prove my point. Take this little quiz. Be completely and totally honest with yourself:
1. Should stems cells be used for medical purposes?
2. Is global warming occurring?
3. Should we be in Iraq?
Now, do the same with these questions, without citing a politician, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, or agenda-driven entertainer or politician:
1. What is a stem cell and where does it come from?
2. What is global warming?
3. How many troops (and from how many nations) are currently in Iraq?
Now, I am sure some of you out there scored a whopping 6-for-6. However, I would argue that vast majority, deep in your soul, can admit that you have very strong opinions on some things you know nothing about. And if you think I am being condescending, I can tell you that I, too, have very strong opinions on some stuff that, when I am being totally honest with myself, know very little about. And I have no one to blame but myself. It’s amazing that we can get passionate about things we have no hard, factual data on.
Think of it this way: Suppose my 6-year-old daughter suddenly approached you and began giving you her take on why the designated hitter is ruining baseball. You might be convinced by her argument. But if you stopped and said, “Allie, what’s a designated hitter?” and saw the blank look on her face, you would probably stop listening to her argument. So let’s stop listening to people’s hollow arguments, and let’s stop making them ourselves. Let’s start being informed. Look, we’re not going to agree on a lot of things, but at least let’s get all the information before we solidify our opinions. And we have a very simple reason why you should do this: Because I wouldn’t lie to you.