The recent election demonstrated that many Americans either don’t understand how elections work, or don’t really care.
Shortly after the polls closed, many Americans either unhappy with the projected outcome of the electoral race protested, and contrary to their state’s laws suggested that the vote counting be stopped or continued.
Some, despite the evidence of state chief election officers and certifications of elections to the contrary, but echoing conspiracy theories advocated by President Donald Trump’s and supportive news media pundits, claimed that the vote was rigged.
This is a scary situation. Why did this occur? Although there are multiple reasons, one that sticks out is that many Americans are poorly informed about how American democracy operates. I would even go further and argue that some really don’t care.
Why does this occur and what can be done to remedy this situation?
Sure we can blame the influence of a focus on STEM education, and the mass media like the internet, including increased distractions presented by the rise of social media, especially Facebook, TikTok, etc., but I believe that the basic cause of this democracy blindness, is the erosion and elimination of both classes that teach students how to think critically, and civics classes in the typical middle and high school curriculum of the United States.
What are the solutions? Again, there are many, however I believe that there needs to be mandatory teaching of critical thinking skills and civics in middle and high school. The exact curriculum can be decided upon by a committee of nationally recognized experts. Regardless, this education should be funded by the federal government. Moreover if student’s don’t pass this test, administered in a SAT like fashion, and I don’t mean squeak by with 51 percent or a C, they don’t graduate.
This is the way to go. We don’t want to slide into authoritarianism and enable kleptocracies, like the situation we are now in. We want an informed public, properly schooled in the basics of democracy, who knows and respects our history, laws and our constitution, not one that make their decisions simply based on superficial aspects of the candidates or what their family, friends, or religious leaders told them how to vote.
photo: “Million MAGA March” by Victoria Pickering
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/50603298017_2f8d5a72a1_o-scaled.jpg9332560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-11-15 12:44:492022-12-15 12:14:52Democracy blindness: On being misinformed about democracy or ignoring its principles when the outcome does not go your way
If the past four years have taught us anything, it’s that there are major problems with our political system. I could list a dozen of them off the top of my head, but the one that sticks out is our winner take all electoral system.
In theory, in this type of political contest all a candidate needs is a simple majority of votes to win a political office. This is, after all, how it’s done at the state and local level. Sure, at the federal level we have the electoral college and it probably should be abolished, the bigger problem is that although the candidates with the most votes wins, it leaves everyone else who did not vote for the candidate disgruntled. This situation is referred to as the tyranny of the majority.
Although we might consider redistricting, taking on gerrymandering, reforming who is allowed to vote, and/or encouraging the expanded use of mail in voting, what we really need is some form of or complete adoption of proportional representation (PR).
In general, PR, works this way: when you vote, you cast your ballot not for a candidate, but for a political party that has a list of candidates. When the votes are tallied up, the seats in the representative body are allocated to the parties based on the percentage of the votes they earned among the electorate. Although there are several variations of PR, and understanding the differences among them is important and complicated, this system was used in two dozen cities in the United States during the first half of last century, and has been adopted in about eight-five countries.
Here is a hypothetical example. Let’s say your party earned 20 percent of the votes and there are 10 seats in the representative body. That means, in general, your party is allocated 2 seats. Meanwhile each party has their own rules about determining who those people in their party will serve in the legislature. In general, this same model extends to committees and heads of the bureaucracy. Some heads of the bureaucracy are staffed by one party while other parts of the administration is headed by a representative of another party. Yes there is competition, but there is also cooperation.
It’s not a perfect system, (general criticisms are that they favor coalition governments that are slow to get new policies, practices and legislation pass), it also means that the legislative bodies are more deliberative and on the whole it generally leads to system stability and a mechanism for all voices to be heard. Politicians must make compromises if they want to stay in power. There is a tension between the party and the person who occupies the position in the formal legislative body.
But the bottom line is in general proportional representation enables all qualified voters to have an equal chance to get their voices heard and less people are disgruntled with the outcome.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2020-11-07-at-4.41.10-AM.png535804Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-11-07 09:44:442024-09-22 12:23:46Forget tweaks to our political system, it’s time to implement proportional representation
With a few days left until the election our country is facing, I thought I’d say a few things.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I received our ballots via mail, we selected our preferred candidates, and then we walked over to the drop box, not far from where we live, and deposited the envelopes.
We are part of the lucky ones. We live in a relatively sane part of the country where ridiculous barriers that some people face in other jurisdictions just to exercise their democratic right to vote are frustrated at every turn.
Maybe you have voted already. Good. I hope that you have voted to return sanity and logic to the White House and the country.
But to the numerous people who have not voted and are considering stepping out this time here is what I have to say.
This election is different in many respects.
It’s an event that no American of voting age can afford to remain silent in exercising their right to vote.
The stakes are just too high.
The last four years have been a dumpster fire of ridiculous proportions.
Many Americans and foreigners who closely watch what happens here have been treated to a daily stream of news stories about silly stuff that Trump and company have said and done.
Some people have been mildly entertained by this behavior, while others have become numb to this information.
Others are not sleeping well and are coping via alcohol and drugs.
Some of you might argue that your individual vote doesn’t count, or had the Democratic party only chosen Bernie then you would have come out and voted.
Although this argument could have been tolerated in previous elections, this one is not the same.
Then there are the Republicans who are not happy with Trump but because of some sort of fidelity to the Republican party can’t in good conscience vote for Biden. That argument does not wash in this current situation. Your vote can actually make an impact.
Even in districts that are solidly for Biden, it’s important to still come out and vote, because the numbers who come out to vote, will demonstrate the strength of people’s dissatisfaction with Trump.
It’s finally time to put down your beer, bong, or the controller of your X-box, and get off your couch and vote. Yes, even if that means you have to wait in line for a couple of hours in the cold and the rain. Dress appropriately, bring a bottle of water, wear a mask and socially distance. What else are you going to do during the time it takes to vote? Who knows you might even meet some interesting people, who like you are waiting in line, that you would like to hang out with in the future?
Tuesday evening and the days following will be a unique period in recent American history. But you need to keep your cool and don’t do anything stupid. We can deal with voter suppression, gerrymandering, giving felons the right to vote at another point in time. But the time to vote is now.
Keep in mind that the election is not over until Trump is finally removed from office. And even when he does step down, I have no illusions that he, his children, and the most vocal of his Republican enablers whether it’s from the pulpit of Fox News, a federal prison cell, or a foreign country to where they have fled will be with us for a long time. I say good luck. Bring it on.
But right now it’s time to vote.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/50537091273_777c3f5478_c.jpg243800Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2020-10-30 20:14:052022-11-13 19:15:11If you’re thinking about sitting this election out, it’s your last chance to reconsider
Democracy blindness: On being misinformed about democracy or ignoring its principles when the outcome does not go your way
/by Jeffrey Ian RossThe recent election demonstrated that many Americans either don’t understand how elections work, or don’t really care.
Shortly after the polls closed, many Americans either unhappy with the projected outcome of the electoral race protested, and contrary to their state’s laws suggested that the vote counting be stopped or continued.
Some, despite the evidence of state chief election officers and certifications of elections to the contrary, but echoing conspiracy theories advocated by President Donald Trump’s and supportive news media pundits, claimed that the vote was rigged.
This is a scary situation. Why did this occur? Although there are multiple reasons, one that sticks out is that many Americans are poorly informed about how American democracy operates. I would even go further and argue that some really don’t care.
Clearly, I’m not the first person to identify this problem. As recent as 2019, the Annenberg Public Policy Center at University of Pennsylvania found that about three in five Americans don’t know the three branches of government and an equal number don’t know a single branch.
Why does this occur and what can be done to remedy this situation?
Sure we can blame the influence of a focus on STEM education, and the mass media like the internet, including increased distractions presented by the rise of social media, especially Facebook, TikTok, etc., but I believe that the basic cause of this democracy blindness, is the erosion and elimination of both classes that teach students how to think critically, and civics classes in the typical middle and high school curriculum of the United States.
What are the solutions? Again, there are many, however I believe that there needs to be mandatory teaching of critical thinking skills and civics in middle and high school. The exact curriculum can be decided upon by a committee of nationally recognized experts. Regardless, this education should be funded by the federal government. Moreover if student’s don’t pass this test, administered in a SAT like fashion, and I don’t mean squeak by with 51 percent or a C, they don’t graduate.
This is the way to go. We don’t want to slide into authoritarianism and enable kleptocracies, like the situation we are now in. We want an informed public, properly schooled in the basics of democracy, who knows and respects our history, laws and our constitution, not one that make their decisions simply based on superficial aspects of the candidates or what their family, friends, or religious leaders told them how to vote.
photo: “Million MAGA March” by Victoria Pickering
Forget tweaks to our political system, it’s time to implement proportional representation
/by Jeffrey Ian RossIf the past four years have taught us anything, it’s that there are major problems with our political system. I could list a dozen of them off the top of my head, but the one that sticks out is our winner take all electoral system.
In theory, in this type of political contest all a candidate needs is a simple majority of votes to win a political office. This is, after all, how it’s done at the state and local level. Sure, at the federal level we have the electoral college and it probably should be abolished, the bigger problem is that although the candidates with the most votes wins, it leaves everyone else who did not vote for the candidate disgruntled. This situation is referred to as the tyranny of the majority.
Although we might consider redistricting, taking on gerrymandering, reforming who is allowed to vote, and/or encouraging the expanded use of mail in voting, what we really need is some form of or complete adoption of proportional representation (PR).
In general, PR, works this way: when you vote, you cast your ballot not for a candidate, but for a political party that has a list of candidates. When the votes are tallied up, the seats in the representative body are allocated to the parties based on the percentage of the votes they earned among the electorate. Although there are several variations of PR, and understanding the differences among them is important and complicated, this system was used in two dozen cities in the United States during the first half of last century, and has been adopted in about eight-five countries.
Here is a hypothetical example. Let’s say your party earned 20 percent of the votes and there are 10 seats in the representative body. That means, in general, your party is allocated 2 seats. Meanwhile each party has their own rules about determining who those people in their party will serve in the legislature. In general, this same model extends to committees and heads of the bureaucracy. Some heads of the bureaucracy are staffed by one party while other parts of the administration is headed by a representative of another party. Yes there is competition, but there is also cooperation.
It’s not a perfect system, (general criticisms are that they favor coalition governments that are slow to get new policies, practices and legislation pass), it also means that the legislative bodies are more deliberative and on the whole it generally leads to system stability and a mechanism for all voices to be heard. Politicians must make compromises if they want to stay in power. There is a tension between the party and the person who occupies the position in the formal legislative body.
But the bottom line is in general proportional representation enables all qualified voters to have an equal chance to get their voices heard and less people are disgruntled with the outcome.
If you’re thinking about sitting this election out, it’s your last chance to reconsider
/by Jeffrey Ian RossWith a few days left until the election our country is facing, I thought I’d say a few things.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I received our ballots via mail, we selected our preferred candidates, and then we walked over to the drop box, not far from where we live, and deposited the envelopes.
We are part of the lucky ones. We live in a relatively sane part of the country where ridiculous barriers that some people face in other jurisdictions just to exercise their democratic right to vote are frustrated at every turn.
Maybe you have voted already. Good. I hope that you have voted to return sanity and logic to the White House and the country.
But to the numerous people who have not voted and are considering stepping out this time here is what I have to say.
This election is different in many respects.
It’s an event that no American of voting age can afford to remain silent in exercising their right to vote.
The stakes are just too high.
The last four years have been a dumpster fire of ridiculous proportions.
Many Americans and foreigners who closely watch what happens here have been treated to a daily stream of news stories about silly stuff that Trump and company have said and done.
Some people have been mildly entertained by this behavior, while others have become numb to this information.
Others are not sleeping well and are coping via alcohol and drugs.
Clearly it does not help that in the midst of it all we have the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of you might argue that your individual vote doesn’t count, or had the Democratic party only chosen Bernie then you would have come out and voted.
Although this argument could have been tolerated in previous elections, this one is not the same.
Then there are the Republicans who are not happy with Trump but because of some sort of fidelity to the Republican party can’t in good conscience vote for Biden. That argument does not wash in this current situation. Your vote can actually make an impact.
Even in districts that are solidly for Biden, it’s important to still come out and vote, because the numbers who come out to vote, will demonstrate the strength of people’s dissatisfaction with Trump.
It’s finally time to put down your beer, bong, or the controller of your X-box, and get off your couch and vote. Yes, even if that means you have to wait in line for a couple of hours in the cold and the rain. Dress appropriately, bring a bottle of water, wear a mask and socially distance. What else are you going to do during the time it takes to vote? Who knows you might even meet some interesting people, who like you are waiting in line, that you would like to hang out with in the future?
Tuesday evening and the days following will be a unique period in recent American history. But you need to keep your cool and don’t do anything stupid. We can deal with voter suppression, gerrymandering, giving felons the right to vote at another point in time. But the time to vote is now.
Keep in mind that the election is not over until Trump is finally removed from office. And even when he does step down, I have no illusions that he, his children, and the most vocal of his Republican enablers whether it’s from the pulpit of Fox News, a federal prison cell, or a foreign country to where they have fled will be with us for a long time. I say good luck. Bring it on.
But right now it’s time to vote.