“They have discovered a cure for apathy but no one has shown the slightest interest in it,” comedian George Carlin once said.
That certainly is true as it relates to the political apathy in this nation. Many of us are so turned off by politics that we have completely shut down.
The presidential debate last week drew the largest viewing audience since televised debates began in 1960.
However, The Onion, a satirical news website, reported 89 percent of viewers tuned in solely to see whether the roof would collapse on the two participants.
Acrimony among candidates has become too intense to cope with for many people. In our busy lives, we have neither the time nor energy to determine the real message from a political candidate.
The media and the political parties have caught on to this and decided the only way to get our attention is through shock value, so there’s a barrage of memes, biting catchphrases, inflammatory soundbites and sweeping generalizations about issues and candidates.
The Jacksonville Bar Association on Sept. 23 was fortunate to have former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham speak to the JBA membership about political apathy.
After graduating from the University of Florida and Harvard Law School, Graham went on to become the 38th governor of Florida (1979-87) and a U.S. senator (1987-2005).
His message was in essence how political apathy threatens our democracy.
Graham cited the failure to teach civics in elementary school as a major flaw in the education system.
According to a 2007 National Constitutional Center poll, two-thirds of Americans couldn’t name all three branches of government, nor a single U.S. Supreme Court justice.
One-third of Americans couldn’t list any First Amendment rights.
Approximately 40 percent of Americans think the Constitution explicitly states the first language of the United States is English and the majority of those polled had no idea when or by whom the Constitution was written.
A 2010 Pew Research Center survey of Americans’ knowledge of public affairs and politics revealed political literacy has been in decline since the 1950s. When it comes to understanding politics, most of us are subpar.
Indeed, the vast majority of our youth are not taught civics in school. As parents, we worry about what our children are learning, but we also must pay attention to what they are not learning.
The information students do receive is from the politically-charged media and political commercials. The result is an ill-informed and confused society when it comes to politics.
Graham offered a solution to one part of the problem of political apathy.
He stressed that classroom teaching of the modern political system is the best way to fight political ignorance and indifference.
According to Graham, if students are properly taught about the political system they will grow up taking interest in issues and will have the tools to affect change.
He said if young people take personal interest in a political issue, the process will become more meaningful.
Lawyers are best qualified to lead against political apathy.
The JBA is very active in civics education thanks to the leadership of W.C. Gentry, Ray Driver, Braxton Gillam, Tony Zebouni and others. (See related story on Page A-6.)
Currently, the Community Outreach Section Committee seeks association members to participate in a renewed initiative to promote civics education locally.
Contact Zebouni at [email protected] or Judson Bradley at [email protected] if you are interested in helping.
Also, the Young Lawyers Section has engaged in a project at Jean Ribault High School to mentor students in areas such as civics education.
Contact Christian George at [email protected] if you are interested in helping with this initiative.