Voters Have A Responsibility To Help Educate Themselves On Political Issues

Allow me to begin by stating that I have read the entire Mueller Report.  It is important that I begin with that statement because there has been a lot of talk on cable news shows lately about how congress needs to educate the public on the information contained in the Mueller Report.  Many of the cable news contributors on these shows say that this is necessary if congress has any real expectations of getting the public to support them in impeaching the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump.  Really?!  I am not against cable news or any other media doing its part to help educate the public but, come on; we must take part in our own political education just like we did when we were in K-12 school or college.  If we don’t, even if “education by congress” does work, it will definitely encourage voters to feel privileged, expect to always be pampered and continue to expect to be spoon-fed.  We will continue to be lazy when it comes to politics, performing our civic duty and protecting our precious democracy.

What the cable news stations really need to do is to find a way to virtually grab all of us who consume cable news and the rest of America by the collar and shake us until we come back to our senses!  They need to shake us back into reality!  This is our democracy that we are talking about and whether or not it will continue to exist as we know it, if it continues to exist at all!  It is not the responsibility of cable news or anyone else to spoon-feed us when it comes to political issues and politics; especially when these issues could have an existential impact on our democracy itself!  We should not need to be spoon-fed when it comes to this!  What am I missing here?!  Are we so busy enjoying life that we don’t even have time to do our patriotic duty to help save our country from disaster?!  Are we so consumed with self that posterity does not matter?!  What about our children and our children’s children?!  Do they not matter?!

Of course, not all Americans are political geeks who obsessively follow politics; as a matter of fact, many Americans hate politics and do not want anything to do with it.  But this does not mean that they should not take the time to educate themselves on political issues and always remain educated on current political issues so that they can intelligently vote for or against candidates who are in office or for or against those who are running for office.  Voting is our civic duty!  And if we vote without having any knowledge of the issues and just on election cycle sound bites, we are derelict of duty and might as well not vote at all.  Let me be clear, I am not encouraging Americans to not vote at all but rather to get informed, stay informed and always vote.  No one expects voters to research all candidates in office or who are running for office to the “Nth” degree but it is certainly reasonable to expect them to get informed on the issues and not simply vote based on sound bites and/or the aesthetic appeal of a candidate.

The Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his attorney general, Mr. William Barr have lied to the American people about the Mueller Report and are leading them down a rabbit hole that is taking America back to the Jim Crow days and pre Roe v. Wade days.  Mr. Trump has openly sided with President Vladimir Putin against his own American intelligence community – which Attorney General Barr is now investing to determine whether or not their investigation of Mr. Trump as it relates to Russia and Russia’s interference in the 2016 election began as the result of corruption in the American Intelligence Community – and he has sided with a dictator while on foreign soil to disparage former Vice President Joe Biden.  These are only among the most recent disgusting things that Mr. Trump has done to debase the office of the presidency and embarrass America in the eyes of the American people, America’s allies and the world.  And yet, almost all of the U.S. senators – under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and congressional Representatives continue to support, protect and enable him.

It is extremely important that all Americans, regardless of our party affiliation, take a step back and look closely at what is happening in our country right now.  We must stop assuming that our democracy is so strong that it does not demand our attention as voters because nothing can possibly hurt, let alone, destroy it!  All of us need to focus in on what Special Counsel Mueller said when he said today that “all Americans” should be concerned about what Russia did in our 2016 election, that they are likely to try to interfere in our 2020 election and that they will likely continue to interfere in American politics into the future.  It is incumbent upon all American voters to educate ourselves on the issues and remain educated on ongoing issues.  It is and has always been important that we vote.  But in these perilous times in which our democracy and its founding principles are being tried and tested to the limit, it is of the utmost importance that all Americans fulfill their civic duty and vote.

So I want to take this opportunity to encourage all voting-age Americans to always vote.  And if somewhere along the way for any reason you find yourself making an excuse as to why you don’t need to cast your ballot always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line