De Toqueville, Part 1

So I wish that there was some way to genetically alter DNA so that I could have appreciated my education when I was receiving it. I, like most youth, do not truly understand what we are being taught until many years later and that is a shame. For instance, take my political science seminar. It was really boring sitting there talking about dead guys for 2.5 hours for a measley grade, but as I have gotten older the things I did learn have made me realize how incredibly talented/ genius these dead guys really were. Take Alexis de Tocqueville. He was a Frenchman who came to the United States to observe the fledgling democracy and his work can be seen in Democracy in America which is very highly regarded as one of the most important works of the 1800s. Now that I have a little time off for spring break I am going to make some observations/opinions about the current political climate/state of America. I am inspired because the husband of my wife's friend made an astute commentary on their blog about how this election is nothing more than American Idol. We don't really care who wins. We just want to be able to say that we voted for our favorite Idol at work the next day. Way to go Caleb. Brilliant. Consider the following two quotes from dT who said (over 150 years ago), "In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own" and "I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." This guy was genius. I mean think about it. We are told by the media what to watch, where to eat, how the war is going, who we should vote for blahblahblah. Everytime you turn around there is someone telling you what your opinion should be and why your opinion is wrong. Just turn on the TV. Commercials that never end, pundits, 24 hr infomercials who's sole purpose is to get you to buy into whatever they are selling. And the sad thing is that we as a nation buy into this. As we go thru the election season, take the time to research the candidates. Learn about them, see what they are all about and what their records are. Don't rely on political ads that tell us candidates "just are" better than their opponents or get sucked in by fear mongering commercials that tell us that "we are unsafe unless we elect a certain person". Our future depends on it.

Jeff