Money not culture

My view of the current (and not so current) political and cultural situation starts here: on the whole, I think our democracy is weak because the American public is largely uninformed and/or uninterested. The public is, in large part, besotted on entertainment in the  form of sports, action movies,  so-called "reality shows", award  ceremonies. Consequently, to get people's attention, political campaigns are run as "races".  Place your bets!
The outcome of these expensively show-cased races is determined in favor of those who have the most money. This is not unlike baseball and football. The clubs who can
offer the most lucrative contracts get the best players and are in the best position to win.
(They do not always win, because luck plays its part.  In this election , McCain might have won, by virtue of being the most experienced Commander-in-Chief, if the economy had not tanked and eclipsed people's concern with the war.)
As a result, what we get are endlessly repetitive, mindless smear campaigns that leave “the decisive” component of the electorate waffling until the very end and the rest of us, who have already decided whom to support many months before, waiting.
About what this country faces and the complexity of our situation both here and abroad, the public remains clueless. And WE want to export this product?
In the post-election wrangling, both parties are positioning  or repositioning themselves, already thinking about raising money for the next election. Who talks about the elephant in the room?
If we want to take eduction seriously, surely this is the place to start. It would be so, well,  s-t-i-m-u-l-a-t-i-n-g!!!
Short, publicly financed televised campaigns, in which candidates spell out their vision for the near and more distant future and the road thereunto, without being allowed to    smear their opponents, anyone?
 
[21 febbraio 2009]