Friday, September 28, 2012

On Civic Engagement and Political Education


It really distresses me how little average Americans—even supposedly intelligent, college-educated people—know about the political process and the very serious social and economic issues that confront our nation and the world. I always loved the following quote from Thomas Jefferson, because it seems self-evidently true: “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society,” he wrote, “but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.”

Americans need to be educated about the issues, if we are to become a citizenry that has the wisdom and the understanding to govern itself, and if we are to avoid slipping even further away from the democratic ideals of our Founding Fathers. The first step in this process, I believe, is to clarify where we stand on the issues and to assess which candidates running for political office have positions most in line with our own.

Recently, Meritta Cullinan, a colleague in the Sociology Department at Molloy, sent me a link to an on-line survey that in a very simple way attempts to do just that:


http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

It took me about 3 minutes to do the survey and the results were somewhat surprising in my case:


Apparently, the candidate whose views on the issues are closest to my own is someone I didn’t even know was running for President, and whose party I didn’t even know existed until now—RockyAnderson of the Justice Party. 
It wasn’t too surprising to me that I was close in political leaning to Jill Stein of the Green Party: I was a member of that party for several years and environmental issues are extremely important to me. But Rocky Anderson? Who the hell is he, anyway, and what exactly does he stand for? As I explored his website, I began to realize that he was indeed a candidate that I probably could endorse without feeling as though I was polluting my soul.

In an ideal society, the Rocky Andersons, the Jill Steins, and the Gary Johnsons of this world would have at least the possibility of becoming President, because there are an awful lot of Americans whose political views are probably more in line with those of these candidates than they are with those of Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But the two major parties seem to have the system completely locked up. They have all the funding, they have access to all the advertising, they even control our presidential debates, so that third party candidates can’t even get their views heard by the American people. We essentially have a two party political system that exists almost exclusively to prevent any other political voices from ever being heard.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. And the first step, as I’ve already indicated, is to clarify your own views on the issues and look for candidates who share your own values and ideals. The second step is to stop worrying so much about “electability,” because if you feel compelled to support someone whose values and ideals are not in synch with your own, you will always be disappointed in the end.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts on the 2012 election, you know who I feel compelled to vote for in November. But in this election, I’m basically voting against a party that I believe has such horrific positions on the economy, the environment, and civil liberties that I almost have no choice but to support the other guy and his lame-ass party. In a sense, I’m voting to stop what I consider to be moral evil, and that is what’s driving me right now. But I have absolutely no regrets voting throughout the years for Green Party candidates like Ralph Nader and “Grandpa” Al Lewis, because I know that my vote was for a candidate I could truly believe in.

In a few weeks each of us will have to step into the election booth and make our own choice about who we will be supporting for President. In preparation for this act of civic engagement, I’d strongly encourage you to take the “On The Issues”survey to see who your ideal candidate might be. If you’re interested in exploring your own political leanings in a more involved way, I’d invite you to spend a little more time going through the excellent "Political Compass" survey that is also available for free on-line.

The worst that could happen is that you spend five minutes of your life and realize that the candidate you were planning to vote for anyway is the one most in line with your own positions on the issues. But, like me, you may just be surprised at the results you receive. And these results might even inspire you to start questioning your allegiance and loyalty to candidates and parties whose positions on the issues may in fact be quite far removed from your own.

So take the survey, and let us know your results and whether you were surprised about them or not. 



Watch the 2012 Presidential Debates
 

45 comments:

  1. My results did not shock me. What did shock me is when I clicked on how our answers matched. For example, illegal immigrants, and issues on social security and church charity, me and my matched candidate were on oppose sides of the spectrum in which I find very strong towards. Yet I was under the democratic party.
    -Antoinette K

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NOTE TO ALL STUDENTS:

      Be sure to tell us what candidate you came closest to in terms of your views.

      - Mike

      Delete
    2. I was 40% towards Rocky Anderson and 38% of my social views with Gary Johnston.
      -Antoinette K

      Delete
  2. I came out 98% in common with Jill Stein of the Green Party. Like you, I wasn't surprised by this result, since I am really into the environment am pretty far to the left in my political views. I probably will still vote for Obama though.

    ReplyDelete
  3.  The candidate I came closest to was Joe Biden. Now this is a moment of truths, I knew I was a democrat but mostly because my parents were and based on what I was taught from them. However this quiz allowed me to really think about issues that I'm concerned about and have a voice and take a stand for them. The results didn't shock me, because I expected it to be liberal. However what did shock me was knowing that I was a democrat without fully understanding why.

    By: Sheika Baksh

    ReplyDelete
  4. To be completly honest, I have never went to vote. i never even knew if i was a democrat or republican. so based on this survey i found out to be a republican and the candidate that i came closest to was mitt romney. I do not really know a lot about him but now it got me thinking and i will definetly look more into it and find out more information.

    Yelena M

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never really knew who I would vote for and I was mostly back and fourth. This quiz was really helpful because not only did It tell me who I was leaning more towards, but it shows you information about each candidate after you complete the quiz. I liked how you can compare each candidates views from the website and it's made clear how they each feel about certain topics because for me personally sometimes I loose focus while actually watching the debates.
    -Jenna G.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ^ I actually came closest to Romney by only 7% more then Obama.
    -Jenna G.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The party that I favor most is the Democatic party. My result shows that I was the closest with Joe Biden. This doesnt shock me because this is what i expect.

    Kadian G.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My highest match was with President Obama, followed by Joe Biden. Not close behind them were Rocky Anderson of the justice party and Jill Stein of the green party. I wasn't too shocked by my results overall, but I was surprised at how close the total percentages were for the top four results.

    -Stefanie I.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My closets match is with Gary Johnson. In all honest I dont even know who he is. Mitt Romney came in second, and Jill Stein from the green party. I wasnt to suprised by my results with Mitt Romney.

    ReplyDelete
  10. When I took the quiz, I found out that my responses were closest to Rocky Anderson and Jill Stein on social and economic issues. The questions were fair and definitely areas of concern in our society today. I was surprised that I didn't see questions about our eco system.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The candidates I came close to was Obama with 58% followed by Jill Stein 55%. I was not surprised to see Obama first because I have always leaned towards the democrat side and would vote for him for the coming election but I was however surprised to see Stein in a close second from the Green Party. I never knew I shared so many economic ideas as her, almost as much as Obama. I never really thought much of other parties besides Republican and Democratic.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Taking this test was very eye opening. I have always said i leaned more toward the republican side but when i took this test i came closest to Obama with 50 percent in the democratic side. The republican party actually came last on my test so I am now very intrigued and have to do some research.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My two highest matches were Rocky Anderson and Jill Stein, both at 68% total, 81% Social, and 58% Economic.Then came Barack Obama at 53%.
    -Daniel Woods.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I thought was a republican before this test. Rocky Anderson was my closest match and Romney was my last match. I had no idea who Anderson was when I received my results. I really should start taking more of an interest in politics so I can make my vote represent me.
    -Brenna D

    ReplyDelete
  15. I never really categorized myself as wither a Republican or a Democrat. I just sided with the candidate whose views matched mine the closest. I was surprised to see Virgil Goode as my closest match, but in all honesty, my views really are not reflected strongly by any one candidate as you can see from my results in which my number one result was only a total score of 40%

    Eric

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have never voted and was not interested in politics. But since there have been so many issues with the economy lately, it has drawn my attention to voting. I came 50% closest to Obama. I was followed by Jill stein. The questions asked were reasonable and definitely issues we need to fix. I didnt see much about the ecosystem . The kind of environment we live in deserves attention as well.

    -Sunny c.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jill Stein for %50. It's not really that surprising. I've always been pretty liberal in my views. It might not be the best in terms of actually leading the country but that's how I feel. Then again i didn't answer a few of the questions because i didn't know what they meant but overall yeah i'm a liberal.

    -Darian J.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I believe that I am a conservative, and I was matched with
    Virgil Goode. This was a somewhat strong pairing at 60%. I have religious views and at the same time strong economical view points. This spreads me across different candidates agreeing with certain things from each.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gary Johnson 40%. I didnt even know who he was but I guess we have some of the same beliefs.
    Kevin B

    ReplyDelete
  20. April T.

    My results were 40% closet to Rocky Anderson with a close second of Mitt Romney at 38%. I didn't
    even know of Rocky Anderson, let alone that he was running for president. He represents the Justice party which i never heard of either.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Josephine Fealey- Virgil Goode 35%
    Paul Ryan- 33%

    ReplyDelete
  22. Matt H
    50% Rocky Anderson

    I was surprised because I thought I was more conservative

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've never voted before and wont be able to this year either. The canidate I was matched with was Rocky Anderson ath 35%.I was also matched with Mitt Romney at 35% which surprised me greatly because I disagree greatly with many of his views. I look forward to voting in the 2016 election and am looking forward to paying close attention to this years.

    -Mike R

    ReplyDelete
  24. My top match was Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party with 45%. After reading the breakdown of his views, we disagree on more things than we agree on. This survey indicates to me that I'm slightly more conservative. But it also tells me that I don't strongly belong to one party or another.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I had 45% in common with Joe Biden. I also had 30% in common with both President Obama and Mitt Romney. I am socialy republican and economically democratic. I have mixed views and this survey proves that to me. I am not surprised with these results.

    -Mike D

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have always been unsure if I wanted to be a Republican or a Democrat. The survey proved this for me because I got Romney 38% and Obama 38%.
    -Chris G.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I definitely am on the left of the political spectrum. I have never heard of Rocky Anderson before and apparently I have 53% of my views similar to his. I also had 53% with Jill Stein, 48% with Barack Obama, 45 with VP Joe Biden, and 38% with my boy Gary Johnson.
    -Rebecca Desormeaux

    ReplyDelete
  28. My top match was Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party with 45%. After reading the breakdown of his views, we disagree on more things than we agree on. This survey indicates to me that I'm slightly more conservative. But it also tells me that I don't strongly belong to one party or another.

    -Nicole S.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm not very surprised that I didn't line up very strongly with any specific candidate. I line up with obama about 30% which is fairly strong since i chose to be neutral on most issues.

    -Alex V

    ReplyDelete
  30. My top match was Mitt Romney with a 38% match. I was a little surprised by how low the percentage match was. Generally, I agree with more conservative views, which is why I was not surprised by my match. My social views scored a %50 in conjuction with Romeny. I think social issues are of the highest importance when choosing a presidential candidate.

    -Nicole G

    ReplyDelete
  31. My results didn't shock me entirely, I knew I was in-between the liberal and conservative parties. My total score was most similar to Mitt Romney with a result of 43%.

    K8

    ReplyDelete
  32. I got 55% for virgil goode. Idk who that is tho. The next person is Paul Ryan with 53% which is not surprising because he is more conservative than Romney and I view myself as a strict constitutuionalist.

    -Anthony T

    ReplyDelete
  33. Virgil Goode
    Total:45%
    Social:81%
    Economic:21%
    I agree with many of his social and moral beliefs, however there are some points (such as his opinion on druf use) in which I strongly disagre. I did agree with his stance on not bailinf out GM

    -Christian

    ReplyDelete
  34. I ended up most like the Republican VP, Paul Ryan at 48%. I am not at all shocked by what my results where because I originally considered myself a Republican.

    -Chris Walters
    NOBAMA 2012

    ReplyDelete
  35. Barack Obama 50%. This is exaclty where I wanted to be. Pride myself on being a moderate/independent. Don't like to lean one way more than the other. Believe it is more beneficial to not get tied down to one political party.

    ReplyDelete
  36. The candidate whom i was closest too was Mitt Romney who is in the Republican respected area. my percentage was at at 50% in which we agreed on the topics that pertained to the survey.I was not surprised with my results from the survey due to the fact that i seem to agree with where Mitt Romney stands.

    Sara V.

    ReplyDelete
  37. My results from the presidential survey, were in favor of Paul Ryan, Vice-Presidential Nominee with Mitt Romney. My results were more towards a Republican point of view. This was a shock to me because I consider myself a democrat.

    Gabriella A.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I've never really been into politics before but taking this test it was interesting to find that I was closest to Obama. Even though I've never really had an opinion on this subject, after taking this test shows that I do stand closer to Obama. Iv'e never voted before but this may be the first time I do!
    Alexandra P.

    ReplyDelete
  39. My presidental standings definitely surprised me and came out closer to Mitt Romney. I believe that Romney is a very inconsistent person with little to no certainty when it comes to America. I'm not completely against him considering my test results, but I do believe I would vote for Obama. I really need to do some more researching when it comes to the election. I never really paid enough attention to politics than I am doing this election. I feel the better I know about our presidential leader the better I'll understand what is going on.
    Carissa S.

    ReplyDelete
  40. My results from the survey came out to favor Mitt Romney followed by Obama then Jill Stein. To be honest I never really paid much attention to each candidate, must after taking this quiz it forced me to do more research. After watching the debates I never felt that my views would be closer to Romney. I have always thought of myself to be leaning more towards being a Democrat. The more in depth research I do about this the more I will come to understand how I fall in this election.

    ReplyDelete
  41. My results from the Presidential survey came out to favor Jill Stein. Shortly following her was Obama. I was not too surprised about the turn out because I am all for "going green" and Jill Stein is in the Green Party. I always favored Obama so I am glad that he came out with high ratings in my survey. I am positive that I am making the right decision when I vote this year. My survey helped seal the deal for me on who I want to vote for.

    ReplyDelete
  42. When taking this quiz I was almost scared to see which candidate was closely matched with me. After sucking it up and completely the quiz it turned out that my views were closest t Vice President Joe Biden with Obama following second place. NOw this wasn't a surprise since I have been raised in a democratic home and have become a democrat myself.

    ReplyDelete