Political Science

The right of the American people to know, is the crux of its valued democracy. For a democracy truly representative of the will and aspirations of its people, the people themselves must be informed and educated of the issues that the country faces. In this manner, they are able to influence directions in policy as well as check on the actions of governmental institutions responsible for their welfare. An informed and educated public is the greatest weapon of democracy (Emmerinsky, 2001).

Unfortunately, studies made by political scientists and observers have shown that the average American today is not adequately informed of the nations political issues and is unlikely to show interest in the goings-on in government. Is the American public well-informed In terms of access to information, television is now a common fixture in every household so that the ordinary citizen can get news and other relevant information from it as well as from other sources such as the Internet. On the other hand, the people may be bombarded with news every day, but the more important question is the quality and truth of the information presented to the public. In my opinion, the problem does not rest with the American peoples lack of interest in political processes, but rather, the American governments policy of withholding information. This is especially true in matters of foreign policy. As former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, in times of crises, In wartime truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies. Indirectly, this is an admission that the government has lied to the public about certain issues, and this is worrisome. That the U.S. government has lied to the American people about its interventionist actions and policies in foreign countries is something that makes trust almost impossible to expect from the ordinary citizen. This explains why there seems to be greater public distrust in government now.  For instance, the September 11 terrorist attacks called for greater public scrutiny on the United States actions not only in the Middle East, but in the Third World. In fact, many Americans then wondered why so many people seemed to hate America, despite the fact the government spends so much on foreign aid. The depreciating level of public awareness is worrisome to any aspiring democracy. Public confidence in government institutions must be restored and there must be transparency from the government itself so that the people can fully participate in decision-making processes that are essential to any democratic government. As James Madison said, A popular government without popular knowledge or the means of acquiring it is but a prelude to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both (cited in Lehman, 1938, p. 6).