Citizens ignore role as leaders of government

[BridgeTheGap]

(lte from a friend in Eastern KY)

Citizens ignore role as leaders of government

The entertainment-driven focus of the U.S. public has broken the role of the informed citizen in our representative democracy.

Treating governance as entertainment has reversed the designed role of the public in our nation's management: Rather than being driven by informed "consent of the justly governed," we tune ourselves to notions expertly presented by entertainers, letting their sponsors set our sense of need and direction.

Failing to pay attention to our needs, we won't control the threats to our lives and welfare, we won't carry our end of the deal in this democracy and we won't get good value from any of our governments.

Private interests drive the destruction of honest governance.

Reasoned management has been the design principle of good government in Western nations since the Magna Carta. A distracted and inattentive public has let those hard-won reins slip from our hands. We've failed ourselves, our families past and future, and the nation by that omission.
More: http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/591531.html

[LiberalEsto]

1. Many citizens are working 2 jobs

and struggling to pay the mortgage and buy food. A lot of people simply don't have TIME to do anything else.

[BridgeTheGap]

3. I suspect that the so-called "Republican Revolution" had that in mind.

They really have run the gamut, in terms of ways to keep people from voting, protesting, etc.

[Eric J in MN]

2. Congress cared so much about our opinion...

...when we urged them not to pass the bailout bill (sarcasm)

[BridgeTheGap]

4. Some did care enough (my congress critter voted "no" both times). The make up

of Congress really started to change in '06. More populists Dems this time too.