Rigging the System, II

Which is more important to you? Which has more impact on your day-to-day life? Your employer or the federal government? WalMart, or the federal government? Even before we look at the fact that both major parties are indentured in large part to the same powerful interest groups, should we be surprised in this era of mega corporations that our population is apathetic toward the state of democracy? That barely more than half of qualified voters, and barely more than two thirds of registered voters, bothered to vote in the 2000 presidential election?

Our media, which the founding fathers viewed as having a crucial role in the preservation and advancement of democracy, has long been asleep on the job. When covering political trends, the media rarely looks beyond "polls of likely voters" - that is, we almost never hear what the majority of Americans thinks or wants, but instead learn what the pollsters believe would likely happen "if the election were held today". This has a skewing effect, suggesting that our nation's political and social beliefs are those of voting Americans, rather than the population as a whole, and discourages groups which disagree with the "majority" view from believing that their votes will matter. While perhaps it is understandable that politicians have little interest in the needs and desires of constituent groups which don't vote, the media has no similar need to cater to the voting public. It can cover the issues in a more balanced manner. But it chooses not to do so. The media also makes no effort to educate the public on the threats to our nation's democracy - we get to see huge maps with 'red' and 'blue' states for Presidential elections, but we never see maps of gerrymandered state districts, whether for state elections or Congressional elections.

At the same time, the media's lust for scandal has led to a diminished public perception of its credibility. This has enabled the Bush White House to treat the media rather shabbily, and to engage in extraordinary acts of control to limit and shape the message the media conveys. As the media has been entirely complicit with this assertion of control, this approach has been very successful and will probably be followed by future administrations.

But then, perhaps this is a reflection of why democracy has been so rare in world history. Perhaps people are content to allow democracy to slip away, as long as they have bread and circuses.... er, I mean subsidized farm products and "reality TV".

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