by Author Name Withheld 231

Created on: October 13, 2010   Last Updated: October 14, 2010

Voter reluctance comes from a plethora of legitimate issues. American politics, in a sense, have devolved to the point of almost being an acting gig or a scripted television show. Politics in America have gotten to the point where it seems more like entertainment than it does the policies and issues at hand. Another problem is this two-party system, which completely and totally dominates the political arena. Sure, you can vote for alternative candidates and, as horrible as it is to say, these votes are throw-away votes. The only substantial effect 3rd party voters have is maybe denying one of the Republican or Democratic politicians a percentage or two of the votes. Yes, that can swing an outcome, but it can also lead to the election of the politician you believe is the worst of two evils.

It seems to me that politicians in modern-day America spend more time campaigning and launching radio and television smear campaigns, then they do legitimately running on their own platform and policies. It's all shock-value, cherry picking, and flying down an illogical slippery slope. Very rarely do I hear a politician expand on his or her own ideas for bettering our nation. What I often do hear is what their opposition is doing wrong and that they have a better "plan"-a plan which almost never is explained to the general public. This gives us reluctance.

When I watch a political debate, I don't even see a debate. I see two theatrical campaigners given an allotted amount of time for one politician to condescend the other. If they run out of time, they are cut off rudely by the moderator. The lesser of the candidates in a multi-politician debate get much, much less time than the front-runners. Third party candidates? Well, they aren't even allowed to participate in these debates, due to a memorandum of understanding between Democrats and Republicans. As a result of these shady rules and seriously flawed platforms, the American people are left with virtually nothing but a sense of being cheated. This gives us reluctance.

The only time I ever got anything I could sink my teeth into from a politician was from 'Meet the Press', before Tim Russert passed away. He showed no bias and was relentless in the pursuit of truths from these politicians. He'd confront them with their own contradictory words and would wait for an answer. The way these candidates would respond to Mr. Russert spoke volumes. This isn't enough, but it was better than nothing. Since he passed away, now what? Sean Hannity? Conservative Bias. Bill O'reilly? Obviously right leading. Keith Olbermann? Liberal Bias. Sean Colmes? Liberal Bias. Joe Scarboro? Conservative Bias. Rachel Maddow? Liberal bias. I, and many others, want to rely on our media for 'fair and balanced' reporting, but we don't get it. This gives us reluctance.

Until we see some real transparency and some real honesty and some real hard-hitting, unbiased pressure from our media, the American people are going to be left with an exasperated feeling. Exasperation cannot and will not lead to voter confidence. Until we get some truths from both Washington and our press, we will continue to be reluctant. Those of us who are not politically blind to one party or another, that is.

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