Democracy is Dead, but was it Ever Truly Alive?

Democracy is Dead, but was it Ever Truly Alive? 

         The ways in which we think about politics in the age of social media have been greatly altered and have changed the dynamics of the political landscape. It is no secret that there has been growing polarization between the left and right in the United States (US). Both sides feel as though they are correct in their views, and cannot seem to agree on what to do about anything. While it has been historically evident that democrats and republicans have been on opposing sides, this sentiment seems to have grown and festered into the shitshow of incompetence we see before us. In addition, now people who align themselves with either side have widely accessible and numerous amounts of platforms to share the propaganda fed to them and contribute to the political polarization. Some would argue that nothing has changed, and we are merely becoming more aware of the vast political differences and viewpoints that exist because of social media. With more information and resources becoming available, it is no surprise that people on either side of the political spectrum will engage in confirmation bias and reinforce their beliefs, further cementing them and making them less receptive to criticism and differing belief systems. 

        Now all this is just the surface-level issues at hand. In order to adequately discuss the root causes of these issues, how they came to be, and how they can be fixed, it would take a lot more than a relatively short blog post. That being said, we can begin to understand the growing divide between political parties by revealing the truth of their existence and their historical purpose in the US. Howard Zinn wrote a terrific book, A Young People's History of the United States. This book generalizes American history and looks at it through a more objective lens than what is commonly taught in American history books. Truly, it is a book that everyone should probably read to better understand how our country was built and what the true motivations were for some of America's infamous decisions. Around the time of Andrew Jackson's presidency, political parties started to arise and garner attention, but this was not by accident. Andrew Jackson campaigned on the idea that he would be the "voice" of the working class, those who were not a part of the elite wealthy. This gave people an illusion of choice by offering two political parties to choose from, all while knowing they will choose the seemingly more democratic side. This was done to control the masses and garner support from the lower classes when necessary. Leaders of the parties, the wealthy elite, understood that they could keep control and power in the government if they gave people occasional reforms that would grant some of the wishes of the general public, but not everything (Zinn & Stefoff, 2007). To anyone, that is not democracy. When people are given an illusion of choice, and their choices are limited, true democracy, one in which the voices of many are heard and considered, never existed. 

        Just from that short excerpt of the book, we can begin to understand that democrats and republicans, historically, have never had the best interest of the working class and general public in mind. Yet, as we see in the current political landscape, people are eager to idolize elected officials of either party and support their motives without any deeper knowledge. In social media and people's use of it politically, it is evident that people are eager to pick a side and lean heavily into it, even if they do not understand what they are aligning themselves with. For instance, a lot of people have and continue blindly vote for elected officials who are a part of the political party they align with, often neglecting to go out and look for the official's policies and beliefs. There is a concerning amount of blind trust in people for their political party, and it is likely part of the reason we are where we are now. 

        Going further, the idea of compromise and mutual understanding of desired goals between political parties is a joke. People still believe that "each party cares about the same issues, we just have different solutions" and it is almost baffling. There are evil, wealthy, powerful people in elected office or otherwise influencing American politics through their money and lobbying, and they do not care about serving the general public and working class. The two-party system is likely taking advantage of the current political polarization within the public in order to further divide and control the lower classes and reduce any chance of genuine revolution or reform, disguising their incompetence in favor of blaming each other to give people the impression that "oh, the other side is so stubborn, that is why nothing is getting done and things are still bad."  

        This all sounds like a conspiracy when it is said aloud, I mean after all, who would want to believe that the government does not serve them. However, it could be argued that there is enough evidence to suggest there could be some truth in all of this. Furthermore, there is still so much more to be discussed and touched on to have a better understanding of this topic. Fortunately, in this age of social media, hope is not lost. With the resources and technology we have now, we can better educate ourselves and detach from the constant propaganda and talking points pushed by the left and right. We can conduct our own research into the issues, spread that information to others, and create an online environment dedicated to cultivating more informed minds. Hopefully, then, the steps toward progressive reform and getting the government to work for the American people will be taken.