red fuzzy jesus

Non-Attitudes and Know Nothings

There’s a famous political science study that I’ve read about at least twenty times in various classes and news articles. In it, a random selection of voters is asked about their opinion of the Public Works Act of 1975. People give a variety of answers with policy buzzwords and related opinions about the president. Then the answers are grouped by their party affiliation. There’s just one catch – there’s no such thing as the Public Works Act of 1975.

That study is used to show that, when it comes to politics, people are quite willing to offer opinions but are generally uninformed. I continuously read that America is in a crisis of apathy. That voter turnout has plummeted since the 1960s and national leaders are now being selected by less than 50% of the populace. Activists and authors wring their hands wondering what can be done to stave off this threat to democracy. I also read that a majority of Americans can’t name one of their Senators, don’t know how long a President’s term is, and get their news from late night comics. Is the former such a crisis in light of the latter?

Oprah currently has a campaign to get people to vote. She figures if she can make stocks plunge and book sales skyrocket she can use her influence to correct indifference. I saw clips of the documentary currently following Ms. Winfrey’s efforts. In it a tearful Cameron Diaz warns, “If we don’t vote the wrong person could be elected and rape could be legalized.” Hold up. Which party is pro-rape? Some other celebrity I didn’t recognize said, “The only reason a little black kid can go to school with a little white kid is because people went out and voted.” Really, I thought that was the famous Brown decision handed down by the Supreme Court. I’m not sure America suffers when Cameron Diaz doesn’t vote.

P Diddy also has a campaign to get young people to vote. It’s called Vote Or Die! The idea is if you’re not voting you might as well be dead in society because no one listens to you. He has a point. But the young people interviewed on his Mtv voting special didn’t have a clue why we were at war in Iraq or what the Federal Marriage Amendment was. Likewise, Jay Leno often features Jaywalking sketches where people on the street are asked questions regarding foundational aspects of America and they can’t answer them. More people can tell you why they voted for Clay Aiken before they can tell you why they don’t like John Kerry. In light of an epidemic of ignorance – is low voter turnout really such a bad thing?

Yes. Low voter turnout is bad no matter who’s not voting. I’m not an academia elitist that thinks the general dumb public should have their leaders chosen for them by the few and better informed. I often think individuals are plenty intelligent but don’t know how to apply that intelligence to politics in a meaningful way. What Oprah, P Diddy, and others are doing to get out the vote is noble. But in conjunction with the imperative pleas to vote, vote, vote should be a parallel effort that encourages people to learn, learn, learn. Oprah doesn’t tell people to read a newspaper. P Diddy’s efforts do not include ways to make politics significant to young people. There is little difference between millions of people staying home on election day and millions of people making their way into a voting booth only to find they don’t associate the names on the ballot with a belief system of their own.

Active participation is crucial to a democracy. But so is the disbursal of information. With the proliferation of the news media and internet it’s easier than ever to have informed policy preferences. You don’t have to be an academia elitist or a news junkie or an annoyingly opinionated writer to be informed. Likewise you don’t need to be able to name famous political figures for Jay Leno. Do you really need to know how long a President’s term is or name a Supreme Court Justice to be an active citizen? That stuff often boils down to trivia and is less important than a set of beliefs. All you really need is something to vote for. Without that, drives that encourage voting purely for the sake of voting have little value.

That famous political science study designed to show how ignorant people are doesn’t in my opinion. So what there’s no Public Works Act of 1975? The term ‘Public Works’ was enough to queue a lot of opinions from people regardless of specifics. Those people had their own ideas about how society should be run. People don’t need Oprah to give them an incentive to vote. They have jobs in jeopardy and kids at war. To reverse the decline in voter turnout the focus should be on bridging the information-application gap so people can translate the opinions they already have into civic action. Maybe P Diddy’s campaign should be titled “Read, Learn, Think, and Develop a Belief System that Compels You to Participate in Democracy of Die!” That doesn’t fit as well on a t-shirt.

Debatable Objectivity

I follow politics the way most people follow sports. Of course I want my home team to go all the way but I feel a sense of justice when the team that practices the most and runs the best plays wins. That’s how I felt about the 2000 election. I wanted Al Gore, the more liberal candidate, to take it. But I had to admit Bush was better prepared and made much more astute moves politically. His team of Hughes and Rove was masterful. The Gore campaign however had numerous blunders. They made mistakes no savvy politician or advisor should make. The outcome in 2000 wasn’t what I’d hoped. But I had to admit it made sense.

With the ‘home team’ way of following an election it’s difficult to be objective. One candidate is linked to an ideological worldview. It’s easier to take a balanced look at campaigns from the ‘strategy’ perspective. Bush/Cheney was smart to bring Mary Madeline on board and Kerry/Edwards was stupid not to enlist James Carville. I think marital stability had more to do with that result but the point still stands. Still, even from a strategy standpoint I cannot see how anyone would think the VP debate was a draw.

Cheney said he had never met John Edwards. Of course the media that night released footage of them greeting and sitting beside each other. Cheney said he hadn’t linked 9/11 to Saddam Hussein. Again, of course, there were lots of recorded quotes when he did. Regardless of policy preferences, over and over again Cheney made errors when he should have known better. I thought he did an embarrassingly bad job – in many ways worse than his boss the week before. But other people didn’t see it that way. To most, both candidates did equally well. Has my ideology become so entrenched that I’ve lost my ability to be objective about political maneuvers too?

I recently returned to school to pursue my Ph. D. in Political Theory. Most theorists I read are impossible to place on traditional conservative/liberal, collectivist/individualist, federalist/anti-federalists, spectra. Its making me think about politics and all that term means in fresh ways. Grad school must be serving its purpose. For years I’ve tried to balance my news with conservative and fringe liberal rags which have sometimes colored my concept of the world but more often angered and scared me. I’m trying my hardest to detach myself from the current election and evaluate it as if I don’t have a dog in the fight. After two presidential and one vice presidential debates I’ve decided I can’t.

I cannot view Cheney as having debated as well as Edwards because I cannot make this election fit my metaphor of a football game. Bush/Cheney seems to threaten the boundaries of the field more than compete. The cold monotone Cheney used to say there hadn’t been an effort to connect Iraq with 9/11 was the same he used with Leberman. But last time it made him seem fatherly and assuring. This time it frightened me to death. Likewise, Bush’s folksy awe-shucks attitude in contrast to Gore’s wooden nerdiness made him seem more amiable – like you’d want to slap him on the back and go have a beer with him. This time it made him infuriatingly ignorant and arrogant. How can this election be so close? The world – and America’s standing in it - has changed a lot since 2000. The attractive traits that sold these men so well four years ago couldn’t possibly be marketable now; or could they?

I understand conservative viewpoints and know a lot of intelligent people have them. My own schematic of opinions has a few conservative spikes in it. But I’m at a loss as to why anyone would think the current administration has effectively led. I keep remembering the story I heard in high school Latin class about the Roman Empire electing a horse to senate during its freefall. I watch the news and sometimes throw up my hands and quickly flip to Fear Factor because I find ingesting bull testicles slightly less disgusting. I want the best team to win November 2nd. I just hope the next few weeks don’t make me lose all respect for the game.

Dis-able-licious

Two years ago, redneck cas’ reached its apex and gave us the horrible ubiquitous fad of the trucker cap. Last fall geek-sheik was all the rage as skinny nerds in tight sweaters became the new hunks. This fall, haven’t you heard, preppy is back. Hot items for guys include flipped up collars and argyle sweater vests while girls crave the broach, the trench, and the poncho. But, for the fashion forward always looking for the next big thing the buzz all over Manhattan is dis-able-licious. That’s right style seekers, crippled is IN!

Ever since I came to New York fashionistas from Tribeca to midtown have been throwing themselves under moving vehicles and diving backwards down stairs. Why? Two words – Gimp Glam! It’s catching on and if you aren’t broken in one way or another you might as well be a fat Indian in certain circles.

Trends are easy to spot if you have an eye for style. Handicapped bathroom stalls are the new VIP rooms and cerebral palsy is the new big boobs of genetic jackpots. You don’t have crutches? Bitch please! The look now is immobile and obviously pained. Neck braces have replaced the little black dress as the universal wardrobe essential. And that chair I have in my shower I need to help me bathe… hello, can we say status symbol?

All over New York handi-capable is inescapable! Paris Hilton was seen hobbling down the red carpet after forcing her hip dislocation. Rumor has it Lyndsey Lohan was seen entering Prosthetic Aesthetic – an upper eastside salon where limbs are replaced with more current alternatives. We salute you Lt. Dan and your magic legs. Calvin Klein is reportedly getting runway inspiration from the laidback, sedentary style of Christopher Reeve. And it’s catching on elsewhere too. In West Hollywood drag queens that typically impersonate Gloria Estefan have switched from “Miami Sound Machine” Gloria to “After the bus accident” Gloria. Sit your ass in that wheelchair and work it girl.

Some have asked me, how do I stay so ahead of the curve? My artificial knee parts, crutches and fiberglass brace may have had more influence on the world of fashion than Jackie O’s pillbox hat and sunglasses. I say it just comes naturally. Some people got it. The rest just imitate.