A Founding Father speaks

One of the chief architects of our democracy, Thomas Jefferson, put it this way:

"A well informed populace is vital to the operation of a democracy."

No, he didn't say that you have to be educated in order to vote. There is no test on the issues to get a ballot. No one is disenfranchised because of stupidity or ignorance or even willful malfeasance, short of a felony conviction.**

What Jefferson said is that it is in the interests of the democratic process to have people well-informed. That means, first, that the government does not censor the press (or in our day, the media). Second, it means that, with very few exceptions, all government records and actions must be open to scrutiny by ordinary citizens (including the media).

It also means, I think, that we all collectively should insist on the truth being told and on both sides of controversial issues being presented in a fair and balanced way. It would be naive to say that politicians must be required to tell the truth. What are fast losing, however, is a tradition of journalists who are informed enough to challenge those who do not tell the truth.

Instead, we have media-stars, more interested in their popularity ratings than in getting at the truth; and we have the news industry being co-opted by special monetary interests who fund the productions. Thus big corporate sponsors put pressure on tv stations or newsrooms to slant the news.

So how have Republicans and their moneyed interests perverted Jefferson's famous statement? Here's how I would distill their operating assumption (never admitted as such, of course):

"A mis-informed populace is vital to the election of Republican candidates."

Another Republican distortion of one of our beloved adages:

"The truth shall set you free."

Has been been replaced by:

"The truth will cost us the election."

I would find it easier to tolerate if I thought they really believe what they say. But so much of the drivel coming out of the Republican camps is obviously cynical, calculated distortion with no purpose but to fool the people into voting against their own interests.

Ralph

** No, but we do disenfranchise people by passing Republican laws requiring a government issued picture ID to guard against the non-existent, so-called 'voter fraud.' It's just coincidence, of course, that those people (elderly, poor, i.e. people without cars and drivers licenses who also have limited access to get to the place to obtain a special ID in order to vote) tend to vote Democratic by large majorities.