Obama and the Birthers

[Bond]

Huxley's vision is interesting, but haven't the masses always been uninformed? Hasn't a small minority always brought civilizations forward to progress, that, either directly or indirectly, benefited all? I'm not so sure if Huxley's vision of the world is the exception to the rule, but rather the rule.

Back on topic, it's hard for anyone to have a frank and honest discourse about health care reform when: a) hardly anyone understands the health care and insurance industry and b) no one has read the proposed bills. I don't think that most people realize that the majority of bills that are passed through the Senate are never read. The Stimulus Package? Passed in under twenty-four hours. The Patriot Act? Voted positively on by the keyword "Patriot."

The above, in my view, is what drives coverage of irrelevant issues, such as the "Birthers," such as Michael Jackson, etc.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Bond

Back on topic, it's hard for anyone to have a frank and honest discourse about health care reform when: a) hardly anyone understands the health care and insurance industry and b) no one has read the proposed bills. I don't think that most people realize that the majority of bills that are passed through the Senate are never read. The Stimulus Package? Passed in under twenty-four hours. The Patriot Act? Voted positively on by the keyword "Patriot."

The above, in my view, is what drives coverage of irrelevant issues, such as the "Birthers," such as Michael Jackson, etc.

You would recognize this as a problem, then, correct? Listening to the town halls today, one of the major things I noticed was that there were 5 bills that people were trying to comment on. Of course people are going to mix up the policies in the bills.

It comes to the point that the town halls are utterly useless because there is nothing to discuss because the "out" for the politician is always "hey, we're not even out of the committee yet and there is a lot of work to do" or "Thats not MY bill"... Then why are they having a town hall meeting in the first place to push an incomplete or non-accountable plan?

People leave more confused and distrusting then when they walked in. Politicians still don't seem to understand that their constituents take their healthcare very seriously and are going to demand clarity and transparency before they'll support anything as a majority. This isn't some process bill or whether or not to increase taxes on the rich that people will accept the Cliff's Notes on. It hits home for every American and those politicians supporting the public option are still refusing to treat the subject with the seriousness that the voter is demanding. I think people feel disrespected and the anger is VERY real.

This is the greatest failure of communications and leadership I've seen in government since... well... the last time they tried to push through a healthcare bill. Even then, our leaders NEVER talked down to the American people as they are now, dismissing them as ignoramuses, sycophants, racists or worse.

[Bond]

Originally Posted by Professor S

You would recognize this as a problem, then, correct?

Actually, that's a question I'm not quite sure about. I think we can agree that the majority of US citizens are oblivious to the major issues confronting our country, and are not informed with regard to policy, legislation, or their respective representatives. If we agree to that, I then ask why? I have two answers. One, politicians want and/or require an oblivious majority to "keep the masses down." Or, two, the majority of citizens prefer to remain oblivious. I suppose the correct answer lies somewhere in between. But, if the majority does indeed prefer to remain oblivious, can they truly be blamed (or stopped, for that matter)?