A few weeks ago I wrote about the Wisconsin mining legislation currently making its way through our state legislature. In the article, I mentioned conflicting information regarding the mine’s environmental impact. Well, the confusion gods are at it again. In the past week, two contradicting polls were released, one showing that 62 percent of Wisconsinites support the mining bill and the other showing that 62 percent oppose it. This is something happening all the time in the world of politics, and I mean all the time. As someone trying to stay informed on current issues, this is a bit disorienting. As someone trying to accurately and objectively report on these issues, it’s rather frustrating. As someone with a low tolerance for idiocy, it’s downright infuriating. Americans always talk about how tired we are with the dishonesty of those in politics, but we fail to realize the role we play in it. The truth is the people are just as responsible for the sea of nonsense standing between us and actually getting it together and moving forward as a country.
Information and media are subject to the free market. The more attention people pay to it, the more money goes to the people producing it. If people are making money, they will keep doing what they’re doing. That’s called operant conditioning. It’s how we teach dogs where and when to go to the bathroom and it pretty much explains how capitalism works. In the case of these polls, obviously at least one of them is inaccurate. My guess is they both are. People like to hear things that back up their views, so polls with higher disparities receive more attention. Basically, dishonesty sells.
The same is true with politicians. Everyone knows you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Washington D.C. A great deal of the people there, however, were either democratically elected or appointed by someone who was. Again, that’s on us, and it’s because dishonesty sells. Politicians don’t make concessions when they campaign. They tell us what they want us to think. With this precedent in place, a politician who presents their plans objectively and includes pros and cons would appear to have a weak position. We’re stuck in a system where we are left to either guess what lawmakers are hiding or hear it from their opponents. There is a very simple reason for this. Whether motivated by money, power, scoring chicks or actually bettering the country, politicians just want to be elected. And we elect them.
Because of this, we have a political discourse filled with information we can’t trust. Even worse, all the untruth stacks on top of itself until we have to do a great deal of digging to find the truth. To reverse this, we need to demand honesty. It won’t be pretty, though. In an election, an honest campaigner who genuinely presents the drawbacks to their plans would appear much less equipped for the office than one who only touts the virtues of their position. Being presented with accurate information, however, would allow voters to make informed decisions. There is a disconnect here between what is best for the country and what is best for politicians. Ideally, those whose job it is to serve the nation would put its interests above their own.
Is this going to happen? No. As I said before, it’s the job of politicians to get elected and no one can expect politicians to care more about the country than themselves. It’s important though that we recognize the role we play in perpetuating the dishonesty in the political world.
Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
