According to a Gallup poll taken prior to the 2014 mid-term congressional elections, the American people view congress as highly ineffective. The approval rating, at a mere 16%, is the lowest in any midterm election year since Gallup began asking in 1974. Voter turnout for the mid-term elections was the lowest in seventy-two years.
In a republic, officials are elected to represent the populous opinion. When officials are ineffective, the will of the people is not represented.
There is another problem. In 1949, the Fairness Doctrine was enacted requiring the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner that was honest, equitable and balanced. The FCC eliminated the Doctrine in 1987, and in August 2011 the FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine. Since there is no longer a requirement for the broadcast of unbiased news, pundits have a First Amendment right to to tell Americans what to think instead of allowing us to make up our own minds based on facts – not opinions.
What can be done to foster an open, honest conversation about the issues Americans face? We can vote for the Next American Idol and for our favorite team on Dancing with the Stars but we canʼt vote directly for the governing policies that affect local, regional, and national policy.
According to a recent Pew Research Internet Project, eighty five percent of American adults use the internet and ninety percent have a cell phone. A 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study concluded that children between the ages of eight and eighteen spend an average of seven and a half hours a day on a digital device. This is a reflection of the future of American society. Can we use these insights to derive a new method of governance?
Only in a modern democracy.
Poll results will be sent to legislators in hopes that constituency opinions matter to them.