We the Citizens are the Problem, Not the Politicians

Every election cycle we hear people say that they are weary of the division, the acrimony, the harsh and overy-simplistic political spin, the ads, the name-calling, etc.

Examine history and you'll see that political campaigns are probably no worse now than in the early colonial days of this country. The campaigns against Jackson and Lincoln were harsher than against Bush today, though there were fewer media outlets and news did not travel as fast. So perhaps there is merit to the argument that it's worse now because it's accelerating.

I do not believe election campaigns are like this because of The Media (another "they" group), or because of campaign financing laws, or because of technology options, or because politicians have lower character and many advisors shoving them into spin mode. The real reason that our election cycles will continue this way is because we like it. (After all, we sin because we like it.) The root cause of all this is that citizens and non-citizens in the US are shallow. The political process is simply responding (effectively) to our behaviors. We

• prefer soundbites to detailed information
• prefer not to analyze complex situations, nor seek to understand interconnecting systems
• prefer to separate government from "us"
• prefer to operate from preferences than principles
• prefer easy to hard

Yes, there is a small percentage of citizens who study the issues carefully and look beneath the surface with a carefully principled worldview. But campaigns will not be won by tailoring their approach to this group, because only a small minority have worked hard to overcome the endemic slothfulness of our human nature.(Interestingly, most people would put themselves in this minority, but their behavior belies it.)

There are some wonderful distinctives of the American nation that yet survive this slothful instinct. For it is not all about deep thinking. In this season, the quote below is helpful perspective:

"America has always been about freedom. Despite our flawed history -- slavery, our treatment of American Indians, our failure to initially grant suffrage to women, our internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII -- we have fought hard to correct these failures. We fought those who would enslave other nations and then we helped rebuild the nations of our former enemies. Our soldiers, sailors, and airmen are stationed in more than a hundred nations throughout the world to ensure that the enemies of freedom will not succeed. I suggest this is not a time bashing America. This is a time to recognize and celebrate our commitment to freedom and, like our Founding Fathers, pledge our lives, our property, and our sacred honor to advance freedom throughout the world." -- Alan Caruba