Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
-Won't Get Fooled Again, The Who
I did not vote on Election Day, and it does tie into what we've read about in Plato's Republic. Plato recognized that, in Athens, politicians would manipulate people by using their knowledge and twisting it to serve their ideals. They used their secret information to push their goals and pander to the crowd, giving people the false sense that they actually had knowledge. Likewise, crowds of people tend to be superstitious and easily fooled, as they listen and remember the ones who speak the loudest and most ear pleasing. Most people just aren't as deep as thinkers and only want the simplest, most convenient solution that fits with their own beliefs and stereotypes rather than actively seek the truth about their country. This constant ignorance of truth leads to political decay instead of productive change, which, by the way, is always a good word to use when pandering to the crowd.
Naturally, things haven't changed today, as politician's half-truism and American ignorance never truly satisfy the people of this great nation. Which brings me back to the reason why I didn't vote today. First off, I didn't obtain an absentee ballot, but I might've been able to travel back to my hometown in Mississippi before the polls closed. Even if I did, I made the greatest mistake of all in that I failed to do any research on the candidates. As an American citizen it is my responsiblity to know exactly who the candidates are and exactly what they stand for so I can make an informed decision to affect the direction this country should go. For me, simply choosing an candidate based on whether he has a (R) or a (D) or a (whatever) next to his/her name just isn't good enough, because then you're just voting for the party you think you support without knowing exactly who it is you're voting into a position of power. Voting while uninformed is like driving while drunk-if you know you're not in the right state of mind to be doing so, don't be making the decisions.
Socrates was right-people, both in power and not, should constantly seek truth and find the most beneficial way to knowledge. Maybe I'm a little idealistic, but I dare you to tell me I'm wrong on this matter. I'll vote next year when I actually know the score, until then I refuse to help add to the darkness clouding this country's vision. Please feel free to comment.
BTW, I commented on Will's post, Escaping Ignorance.
I completely agree, and the reason people don't want to do away with the speeches, parties, and what not is because then we'd have to think for ourselves and actively pursue the truth behind each candidate. And we can't have that. Honestly, we're way too lazy to even listen to speeches half the time, and we just vote for the party we like. By the way, bravo for not doing that, sir.
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