When I was stationed in Europe many years ago, and then on subsequent trips overseas, I was always impressed with how knowledgeable local citizens were regarding the significant national and international issues of the time. This was true regardless of their educational attainments or their socio-economic circumstances. From German factory workers to Slovenian waiters to Irish farmers to Italian innkeepers, these folks were concerned with and cognizant of political and economic issues. Moreover, they were keen to participate in elections and very aware that electoral results would have a significant impact on their lives. This was—and still is—reflected in the high voter turnouts foreign election contests typically generate.
Not so much in America.
Take the Supreme Court, for example: Recent polls measuring public awareness of Supreme Court cases, for example, have produced some shocking numbers. It might be understandable that large swaths of the population have not heard of the three highly controversial cases that were decided at the end of the Court’s 2022-2023 term—(1) ending affirmative action in college admission decisions; (2) overturning President Biden’s student debt relief program; and (3) permitting a (hypothetical) business to discriminate against a (hypothetical) LGBTQ customer. However, it was stunning to learn that 30 percent of Americans are unaware of last year’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and yanked away a woman’s right to choose. And the most stupefying poll result: 30 percent of respondents to a Marquette University Law School poll think that Democratic presidents appointed most of the members of the Court.
Does this almost one-third of the population live in an underground bunker with no access to radio, TV, newspapers or the Internet? How is something like this even possible? Even in a society so polarized that people get their information only from silo-ed sources that pander to their beliefs and, in this post-Fairness Doctrine era, never hear other points of view, this level of obliviousness is mind-boggling.
The great American experiment in democracy and the rule of law is, today, under threat not only from fascist white supremacist authoritarians such as the rapidly expanding “Moms for Liberty,” who quote Adolf Hitler in their releases and have ties to dangerous extremist groups like the Oath Keepers, but also from Americans who have no interest and don’t appear to care if our precious system survives.
Apathy and not the GOP’s embrace of authoritarianism may be the more immediate threat to democracy. It should only be TV shows that die due to poor ratings. It would be beyond tragic if American democracy is cancelled for lack of interest.
Dick Hermann
July 8, 2023
Not so much in America.
Take the Supreme Court, for example: Recent polls measuring public awareness of Supreme Court cases, for example, have produced some shocking numbers. It might be understandable that large swaths of the population have not heard of the three highly controversial cases that were decided at the end of the Court’s 2022-2023 term—(1) ending affirmative action in college admission decisions; (2) overturning President Biden’s student debt relief program; and (3) permitting a (hypothetical) business to discriminate against a (hypothetical) LGBTQ customer. However, it was stunning to learn that 30 percent of Americans are unaware of last year’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and yanked away a woman’s right to choose. And the most stupefying poll result: 30 percent of respondents to a Marquette University Law School poll think that Democratic presidents appointed most of the members of the Court.
Does this almost one-third of the population live in an underground bunker with no access to radio, TV, newspapers or the Internet? How is something like this even possible? Even in a society so polarized that people get their information only from silo-ed sources that pander to their beliefs and, in this post-Fairness Doctrine era, never hear other points of view, this level of obliviousness is mind-boggling.
The great American experiment in democracy and the rule of law is, today, under threat not only from fascist white supremacist authoritarians such as the rapidly expanding “Moms for Liberty,” who quote Adolf Hitler in their releases and have ties to dangerous extremist groups like the Oath Keepers, but also from Americans who have no interest and don’t appear to care if our precious system survives.
Apathy and not the GOP’s embrace of authoritarianism may be the more immediate threat to democracy. It should only be TV shows that die due to poor ratings. It would be beyond tragic if American democracy is cancelled for lack of interest.
Dick Hermann
July 8, 2023
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