Until the roof falls in

A veteran who fought in the Iraqi war wrote in an op-ed: “Civic ignorance is a very old American problem…as far back as 1943, 77 percent of Americans knew essentially nothing about the Bill of Rights, and in 1952 only 19 percent could name the three branches of government.”

He went on to say ‘civil ignorance was a manageable problem’ for years because our leaders ‘cared about the truth’ – he meant when uninformed people believed lies honest leaders set them straight, righted the ship.

He then got to the point: Today, he said, corrupt leaders, who no longer care about the truth, means ‘the chickens are finally coming home to roost.’

He was reasonable, thoughtful, logical – it’s hard to disagree.

But…

Back in 1940’s ‘civically ignorant’ Americans elected Franklin Roosevelt president. Later they elected Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. So is ignorance the heart of the problem?

Political leaders don’t mold the people who elect them – they mirror them. When voters frowned on politicians who lied – politicians feared the price they’d pay for a lie. Now voters cheer lies – so politicians lie.

The heart of the problem’s not the combination of civic ignorance and corrupt leaders – it’s that we went from condemning lies to cheering lies.

How did that happen?

Honesty is a moral value. A virtue. When religion waned, faith waned, values changed and politicians changed because the people who elected them cheered lies.

What’s the cure?

Unfortunately, most folks don’t ask ‘where did we go wrong’ and get down on their knees to pray until after the roof falls in.P