Democracy Dies In Darkness—Done In By Ignorance And Apathy

We depend on the free press to shed light on deeds done in darkness, but diligent reporting will not in itself preserve the health of our democracy. If a democratic system is to endure, its citizens must hold their elected representatives accountable every day, not just on Election Day. Obviously, citizens are powerless to affect their government if they don’t know how it works. Yet studies routinely tell us that large numbers of voters do not know which elected officials are responsible for the issues they care about, and relatively few Americans understand the most basic process of how a bill becomes a law. A recent headline proclaimed “In major victory for Republicans, House passes Obamacare repeal.” True, Republicans did publicly celebrate victory that day in the Rose Garden. “Obamacare is dead, it’s essentially dead,” President Trump said. Every American must understand that Obamacare is certainly not dead, and Trumpcare is not yet the law of the land. Unfortunately, I suspect that far too many of my fellow citizens read the headlines, watched the G.O.P. euphoria on television or online, and concluded that Obamacare was now dead. Even those who had no idea what was in the hastily written bill could easily assume that—whatever it was—Trumpcare was now the law of the land. Now we’re relying on journalists to provide us with information about exactly what is in the healthcare bill. Sorting out the facts of the mat...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news