Politics

This story is an expansion of what I put in the book.
Giving it further thought I felt I have much more to say on the subject.

The democratic system of government has proven to be the best for the world’s successful countries. However, it does not always result in the best possible leaders.

There’s always pressure on the public to make sure that they vote however I do not agree with this school of thought.

You should not be voting unless you have a clear and informed understanding of who the candidates are, their qualifications and their policies.

I have often said you should need to write an exam to qualify to vote. However, that day will never come.

Too often I see voting decisions made based on political party affiliations or a candidate’s charisma which is basically tribal instincts.

Choosing a candidate was easier in the 1950s and 1960s when news and journalism were grounded in the truth and most voters could make a semi-informed decision.

That has all changed:
Social media is now allowing opinionated yet uninformed individuals, to influence the decision of many.
Once you have linked to that post the social media profit-driven algorithms will direct additional related content to you reinforcing that individual’s political agenda.

This is especially a problem in the current US politically divided system. It is almost turned into a tribal society.

We spent several winters living in the Phoenix Arizona area. While there we became very good friends with several senior families. Almost all of them watched Fox News from morning tonight. I asked them why and they explained they were Republicans. They told me that Barack Obama had a prayer rug in the Oval Office and he was responsible for every problem the country had. When I suggested they should watch something other than Fox if they wanted to understand what was going on in the world. I was told that was fake news.

It is a shame that intelligent people can be so badly misinformed however I think it boils down to the profit-driven Fox News media feeding people what they want to hear.

It scares the hell out of me to think that a vindictive draft dodger with the vocabulary of a ten-year-old who announced there were airfields during the American Civil War could become the president of the United States.

He is perceived as a successful businessman when most of his businesses were failures and he inherited his fortune.

I am among many Canadians who follow American politics and I see value in the policies of both the left and the right however it disappoints me that the truth is no longer part of the decision-making process for most Americans.

In both the American and Canadian systems religious beliefs tend to influence candidates’ thinking. I am not comfortable with an individual representing me, making decisions for me, influenced by their religious beliefs. Religion should never be part of any political agenda.