Impeach Us, Not Them

In the great and long standing tradition of sticking a flag in a new term, phrase or buzz-word and declaring it an official member of the Political Science Club, I hereby put forth my nomination for Social Apathy. It's not new, it's not sexy, it's not even disputed, but it's a plague which will charge and convict us all in the murder of accountability.

(Authors warning: Much of this article is cliche and if any of it actually "wakes you up" then I've made my point).

The mutiny of democracy that has taken place in the United States over the course of several decades has, by many accounts, reached a climax during the Bush administration. The fact that corruption and under-qualification takes place at the highest levels of American Government should be of grave concern, but little surprise. On a list of what strangles democracy, those two items should be 1A and 1B. But for now, those issues need to take a back seat, because until citizens start to take back their own country neither corruption nor under-qualification will be properly addressed.

Arguing that the United States is the largest perpetrator in this regard would be short-sighted, it is indeed a globalized movement, perhaps in line with the global movement of Americanization. It would not be difficult to argue that the export of American culture, a culture in which consumerism is a synonym for activism, has a direct correlation to the downward spiral of awareness in countries such as Canada, the UK and much of Europe. Cause aside, the effect this is having and could have on America and the World is frightening.

In regards to national and foreign policy under the Bush and Blair administrations: if honesty and public feedback were a subtraction equation, in that order, you should get a negative result. Implying that the feedback far outweighed the honesty. Unfortunately for our present situation, using that formula and assuming honesty equaled 100, you would get a sum of in or around 98. Estimated. Poetic license taken.

I am going to abstain from listing or explaining the many lies, deceptions and examples of sheer ineptitude that have plagued the Bush era. Chances are if you are a regular user of this website, you are at least mildly aware of the most serious of these issues. This article is not to teach or instruct, I wish to plead, to those who care.

I beg of you, the socially and politically aware among you, to continue what you are doing. There is a vast lack of people who give a damn in the Western world in regards to fundamental human rights issues. They don't even care about their own rights anymore. Saying they are taken for granted is an understatement. In order to combat this we need to remain informed, we need to continue to educate ourselves. So that when that Monday Night Football party turns to even mild political discussion you are armed and ready to recruit new voices. Grassroots level all the way. (In fact, I would also argue that Liberals need to stop hanging out with only each other, what's that going to accomplish? But, thats a whole other topic.)

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the American example, citizens were blessed with a remarkable document called the Constitution, a document that contained the safe-guards against executive abuses of power. In the last six years alone much of that has been largely ignored or suspended, all in the name of "terror." Again, few seem to care or even know of this at all. We can sit here and blast Bush and Cheney until we're blue in the face but the real blame lies not with them, but with us, the citizens and the fourth estate (the media).

So long as we are pre-occupied with MTV, iPods, the Yankees and HDTV, the abuse and deception will continue, be it in the name of Democratic Liberalism or Republican Conservatism. Believe it or not I actually am an optimist, but we need to re-evaluate what is important to us.

In the United States, I assert a dire need for a revolution within the educational system. As the fundamental bricks and blocks that make American democracy cease to be taught they will soon cease to rest in the minds of citizens. You may disagree, but I personally believe that the foundation has been without reinforcement for too many generations and we are now beginning to see the first signs of structural damage.

Abroad, the same pattern holds true but for once the rest of the world lags behind the United States in a social movement. People around the world need to firmly grasp the pillars that hold up their own respective institutions and make sure their cultural values are upheld, before an apathetic mass begins to strangle whole countries from the bottom up.

Terms like we, us, and people in this article also refer to the Media, of which everyone can be a member. After all, YOU are Time Magazines Person of the Year. In the information age there are no excuses to be wrested firmly with the media. If you disagree with them or feel they are doing a poor job...Join them. Become a journalist. Or a politician. It's your country, it's your freedom, take it all back.

I would bet my Grandmothers burial plot on the fact that I'm preaching to the converted here, but every now and then these things need to be stated. I apologize if everyone read this article and went "Well, duh." But maybe you have that ignorant friend who tries to tell you how important the finals of American Idol are and you feel like forwarding him something...

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