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When did we become so apathetic?
What happened to civic duty? Just saying "civic duty" out loud reminds me of the connotation people have attached to it: another worthless task. Somehow, knowing the workings of our government and participating has become passé.
Sure, media outlets make a big deal about elections. Beyond the headline stories of victory or defeat, the average American would rather watch sports than stay current on the views of our elected officials.
On Jan. 23, I planned on watching the State of the Union Address with my uncle. I tend to lean toward the right side of the political spectrum, while my uncle definitely stands on the left side. He and I participate in political dialogue for a myriad of reasons, and I would like to think that I am more enlightened because of our conversations.
We decided to meet on neutral ground. After some thought, we decided a local sports bar/grill would be a good place to watch the State of the Union. I confirmed there weren't any UK/XU/UC basketball games that night (so as not to have competition for TV time), and the date was set.
Upon arriving, I was relieved to see the neighborhood grill wasn't crowded. I asked the hostess which TV we could watch the State of the Union Address on. The hostess was polite, yet quizzical. I soon found out the cause of her trepidation: She didn't know what the State of the Union Address was!
After we explained the situation, she was more than happy to set my uncle and me up with a front row table/TV. What worried me further was the reaction from those who sat around us. Within the first couple of words by the president, other tables around us "migrated" to other parts of the restaurant. It was appalling to see no interest from other people. There was one person who watched about 10 minutes, but other than that, nothing.
Some people might try to excuse their apathy by blaming the politicians. I can understand how people can feel jaded by their elected leaders. I have personally watched a certain administration screw up a huge foreign situation that could have had great results. People should not give bad leaders or bad decisions permission to stop their participation in their civic duties!
I served in Iraq (2004-05). I got to watch a people take huge steps toward being independently governed. I personally contributed to the security and welfare of poll workers in Northern Iraq. You cannot imagine the energy these people had! The level of excitement the Iraqi people showed was inspiring.
What will it take for people of the U.S. to care again? Hopefully not a dictator, hopefully not an invasion ...
Jamie Ruehl instantly ends his addiction to instant gratification in Erlanger.
posted 2/06/2007
47 comments
47 Comments:
great blog jamie! the American people needs to hear more of what you are saying.
keep it up!
matts.
We need more people like Jamie. People who listen and just don't sit there and complain about every word the president says.
There are some people that would complain no matter who the president is, they just like to b**ch and moan.
Watching Dubya speak makes me ashamed to be an American.
Jaded is not how the politicians make people feel, it's how they are.
They make us feel disgusted.
I would rather watch a national spelling bee than listen to HIM tell me the state of the nation--at least those 11 year-olds know how to pronunciate.
Maybe it's not so much that we're apathetic...maybe it's that we're unwilling to subject ourselves to another round of lies in a meaningless State of the Union Address.
I think people are burned out on a government that isn't working and a "president" who really has no idea what the state of the union is and probably doesn't care all that much.
I'd rather watch the National Spelling Bee, too. At least I'd learn something.
Those who say they have stopped listening to the president because of his policies:
YOU are part of the problem.
When you stop participating in an educated national debate on our leaders, you ARE jaded. YOU enable poor leaders to exist. YOU are not part of the solution.
Better yoursleves! Be educated, and be part of the solution.
I don't equate apathy with not wanting to listen to President Bush speak. I just don't want to hear his lies and rhetoric. Secondly, I don't go to a bar to hear the State of the Union Address; I go to drink and have fun with my friends. Last, please don't paint a rosy pic of Iraq and how we have made them better off; it just doesn't fly with the educated public.
I think it is unfair to assume that people who do not watch the State of the Union address are apathetic. On my 18th birthday, the first thing I did was register to vote. I have worked on campaigns, I write my representatives and I always vote on election day. However, I see the State of the Union address as nothing more than an overly rehearsed hour of lip service. I do not like or support Bush, but I rarely tune in no matter who is speaking. I can read the recap on CNN, but I'm not going to listen to a person who angers me whenever I hear him speak.
I think the bar was an odd choice as a place to watch the address...I am politically involved but might have moved away too.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful column. Even though I disagree, you raise some good points.
"The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution
It is not a " civic duty" to watch/listen to the President give this info to Congress. In fact, from 1801 until 1913 our presidents didn't even bother showing up to speak it. They just mailed each house of congress a written text.
I have no objection to watching the modern, politicized version of this rather minor interaction between two of our three equal branches of government. But in Bush's case, why bother? The man is obviously a pathological liar or a common imbecile. Maybe both.
He insults the intelligence of the public ( well, 60-70% of us anyway) when he continues to repeat the same tired old tripe year after year.
You ask: "What will it take for people of the U.S. to care again? Hopefully not a dictator, hopefully not an invasion ..."
We have had what amounts to a de facto dictator since 9/11. Our congress has, until the last mid-term election, layed down and let the president do as he wishes. The results are plain for the world to see.
An invasion by whom? al-qaeda? They are the only declared enemy we have. Or did have before Bush blundered into Iraq. How do you envision this invasion happening? Do you realize how many 747 commercial aircraft they would have to hijack to launch an invasion?
If you listen to a bunch of politicians in DC tell you that the Iraqis are "no better off", rather than listen to a soldier who had actually been there to witness the reactions of the Iraqi people finally being able to cast a vote, I wouldn't consider you the "educated public".
It doesn't matter who is in the White House, the State of the Union address is pure bull. It's PR for the current administration written by a team of highly-paid speechwriters.
Great article you make valid points but people would rather call their civic duty over and done when the polls close.
If you haven't been over seas and fought over the past couple of years then you can not sit here and say you know what the outcome is like over there, you don't. Only they have the forsight to truly see the difference they are making. The President and supporters alike are going to build the success up while others break it down you believe what you want but I will take it from a friend that currently is over there fighting for what he believes is change. That's all the positive feedback I need.
As for the State of the Union Address we also go to a neighborhood grille and listen. I don't care who is president I have respect for the person representing my country. I lean more to the right-wing and it's hard right now to be in major support of Bush but honestly I don't think many presidents in the past have had quite the challenges he has over the past couple years (and if Jon Kerry were in charge I don't believe the situation would be much different). No I don't think he has done the best job and I know there are decisions he would love to go back and change but wouldn't we all. The fact is to be involved with our country and the direction we are headed you need to get informed and educate yourself not only what you agree with but disagree.
If you don't listen to the speeches then you can't judge because you more than likely read a report on the news website that is geared more towards your political party and walah! Biased opinion!
Call me unpatriotic, but I think it is silly to say that someone deserves my respect just because he has a certain title. The president should EARN our respect. He lost mine a long time ago. That doesn't make me uneducated, and reading a TRANSCRIPT and recap on a news website doesn't make me uninformed. At least I follow up since I choose not to watch it live.
Aside from all the political disagreement here, I think it is great that people meet in alternative places to listen in, but until this blog I had honestly never heard of people watching in a restaurant.
Believing in a President is like believing in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Once you hit a certain age, you wise up. It just takes some people longer than others.
We have a republic -- not a tyranny. The president is not a f'ing king or despot. The presidency (any U.S. president) is only one of three co-equal branches of government. The president cannot even declare war. Only congress can.
When the writers of the constitution wrote "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union", they were saying in effect -- " hey dude, let us know -- from time to time-- what ya think about things .. when ya have some down time. No biggie"
So chill out! Why, you'd think the state of the union address was akin to Moses on Sinai shouting down the friggin ten commandments or something.
I forget... how many terrorist attacks on US soil have there been since 9/11? And how many plots did the Brits uncover and stop before they were acted upon? And who can name one congressman or other political figure who did not support the war 5 years ago? Hindsight is 20/20 people... sure the war has had its ups and downs, but since when has a "war" meant nothing but a bed of roses? I wish as much as anybody else that we didn't have soldiers in Iraq and some 3,000+ already lost, but clearly we're accomplishing something (as described by Jamie) and I hope God blesses those soldiers every minute for what they're doing. It's easy for us to sit here and critique the decisions that we don't have to make for the well-being of our country. But sometimes we lose focus on the fact that whether we're democrat, republican, conservative, or liberal, we're all American. We should support our government and the people who serve it, and if we don't approve of the job they do, then we use our votes to replace them with someone else. Civic duty....
Jeff asks: " And who can name one congressman or other political figure who did not support the war 5 years ago?"
One? I can name 133 house reps. and 23 senators who voted against H.J. RES. 114 -- that is to say, voted against invading Iraq. But must I list 156 names here? I'm not gonna do all the work for you. Look it up on "the google"!
"We should support our government and the people who serve it, and if we don't approve of the job they do, then we use our votes to replace them with someone else. Civic duty.... "
Jeff, this doesn't make sense. Isn't not voting for someone not supporting them? To give support implies that you agree with what is going on. If you dislike what is going on, you do not support it. I don't know why that is so hard for people to understand when it comes to our government. In my opinion, blindly supporting someone because of his or her title is the real problem.
I would suggest that rather than sitting at a bar staring at the president on television, you might better perform a "civic duty" by reading the U.S. Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, Washington's Farewell Address, the letters and writings of Jefferson, everything by Paine, etc. etc.
Some People obviously took this blog personally. Good. Maybe some feathers will fly. Maybe people might start caring. Or maybe not . . .
“Alter or Abolish”. You seem to have been “captivated” by this blog, so I ask; “why?”.
You talked about the president being only one-third of our government. What you fail to recognize is what the State of the Union Address has become. This event is a hotbed of issues that sets the tone for national debate. ALL THREE branches of the government are present during the State of the Union. That is one of the things that makes it so exciting. To see all of that leadership in one room.
You seem to forget about what political dialogue should be. You show your partisanship so well that you forget what it means to have true discussion and debate without bitter words; one of the reasons America is so fractured politically right now.
And for all of you out there that don’t want to watch our president speak because he is some right wing nut-job:
How do you watch the left-wing response if you don’t know what he/she are responding too?
A lot of people who have posted on this blog have proven Jamie’s point. You are too jaded to actually participate in political dialogue. That is why you tune out people who don’t have like view-points as you.
What happened to open minds and spirited debate?
Our culture sucks.
Don't tell me to leave if I don't like it, because I already plan to.
As a government speechwriter here in Washington, I can tell you that we don't get paid very much. Seriously.
Yeah I'm "captivated". More than you'll every know. What branch did you serve in, tough guy? Texas Air National Guard?
FYI...Don't engage in a dialog with alter or abolish. You will always be wrong and you will always get called "tough guy" or "cowboy" or some other uninspiring street name. He will give you every last fact to prove that he is "superior" to you, and then say that you must be reading the wrong paper if your facts are different from his. He does not have an open mind, nor wants a spirited debate, only to hear that you agree with his jaded view of the world.
So I'm a "tough guy" huh? Yeah, I’ve been accused of that before. Thanks for the positive reinforcement.
Nice.
I only respond to your bitter rhetoric so that everyone else here sees the entire picture. You may try to discredit me by asking questions for which you think you already know the answer. That doesn’t bother me, because as the person who posted before me said; “He does not have an open mind, nor wants a spirited debate”. I see in you alter abolish; a lonely person looking for some type of revenge for their own lack of accomplishment.
I started my career (all active duty) in the military as an Infantry Platoon Leader (Light) in the 25th ID, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. After 18months of PL time, as is usual in an officer’s career, I moved to HHD XO for six months, then took a job as a training officer for 17th CSB. While in Iraq I served on Battalion Staff as Plans Officer and Operations Officer for an 800 Soldier/Airman Support Battalion in Mosul Iraq. I was lucky enough to work directly with our partner Iraqi Battalion (2nd Batt, 2nd Reg, 2nd Div “Tigers!”). We also worked directly with an Albanian Company that helped provide local security and Rapid Response on Mosul Airfield. Being a plug-n-play Battalion, we had elements from across the military spectrum to include an 80-person Air Force transportation company. We supported SF missions and three Stryker Battalions, not to mention Marines in small outposts. We also had National Guard and Reserve Companies in our Battalion. You may make fun of those people, however; I call them heroic. The reserve and natl guard units pulled their own weight over there. Can you say the same?
Go ahead alter abolish, poke fun of my experiences. At least I have them and I use my experiences to better myself (and hopefully those around me), not tear down other people.
Jamie Ruehl, thanks for your service!
Alter or Abolish....being a tough guy is much better than being an assbag.
well ..my comment was directed to Anonymous@ 1:08 PM. The poster who said I appear to be " captivated" hence the quotations in my reply to him. Not to you, Jamie. I would have wrote: " Dear, Jamie" if I was responding to you.
Anonymous@ 1:08 PM said --“Alter or Abolish”. You seem to have been “captivated” by this blog, so I ask; “why?”.--
Are you are Anonymous@ 1:08 PM, Jamie?
To Anonymous@ 9:15 AM: Dear anon:
My posts are plain for all the word to read. Outside of this incident I feel no need to defend them. I have certainly never called anybody a " cowboy". Do you actually read them?
Yes, I read them, everybody reads them, and it is abundantly clear that you are a douchelord who gets his rocks off by acting smart and condescending on Cincinnati.com.
dear anon@12:11 PM
I'm not acting.
Also: your comments above and @9:15 are a perfect example of why I don't engage in "spirited debate", as you put it, with ideologues.
It's a shame, alter abol. You might have some good insights and ideas, but you choose to be so one-sided and such a condescending jerk, no one will listen to you. But you're right, it's the rest of us who are jerks, not you.
dear anon@3:49 PM: If you keep putting words in my mouth, I will look like a chipmunk saving seeds for winter and you will look like an amateur demagogue.
Does it occur to you that you and I are not the only people on earth who can read?
I'm pretty sure that more than half of those visiting this blog are capable of reading all my posts as well as yours. Point is: you are attributing words to me that I have OBVIOUSLY not written.
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that you feel you can write something and make it a reality by process of wishful thinking or something.
I'm not sure what it was I said specifically, that blew your head-gasket, but if you want to expose me to the world for the horrible person I am, you should cut and paste the text of my words rather than just fabricating things that you would like others to believe I have said. As it stands now your credibility is in the crapper.
If Jamie IS Anonymous@ 1:08PM then He's a fraud. If he's not Anonymous@ 1:08PM then He owes AOA an apology. Something is rotten in Rotterdam.
Indeed I wrote the Anonymous1:08pm posting. How that makes me a fraud; well, then I guess I’ll leave that up to you. I am an honest person. I have no reason to lie. After all, I did post this string with my name and picture attached. Are these accusers willing to stake their reputation to make an observation? Or are you just reactionaries?
The fact that this string was pushed off the original topic by one or two people only further proves my point:
Either people don’t care or people are afraid of good political dialogue.
Instead, when confronted with this dilemma, certain people curl up into little balls of anger, blame, bigotry, and disinformation.
Was my 108pm posting meant to be anonymous? No. Clearly you can see that posting has similar wording and punctuation as my other posts. No deceit meant there.
Continue to spin into different arguments. Continue to be blind to other walks of life. Go ahead, uphold my observation. Fulfill the role of “The heckler”. Dictate to these blog readers your version of reality. Just keep in mind: we all lose when part of our society doesn’t function. Are you going to be part of a healthy functioning Democracy, or are you going to be part of the problem?
I accept your explanation Sir. And please accept my humble apology. You, Bob Dole and Jimmy from Seinfeld refer to yourselves in the 3rd person. You only do it anonymously though. Yah -- I believe it.
You@1:08PM " A lot of people who have posted on this blog have proven Jamie's point. "
Roger that.
Jamie accepts your humble yet disingenuous apology.
Jamie-OUT
OUT alright. TKO'd.
Now folks, that's a spirited debate.
Great Scott! Dude --just come clean ..don't make it worse.
It's pretty cut and dried.
Anonymous@1:08PM
" ...A lot of people who have posted on this blog have proven Jamie's point. "
Jamie Ruehl@2:04 PM
" Indeed I wrote the Anonymous1:08pm posting .....
Was my 108pm posting meant to be anonymous? No. .......
..... No deceit meant there."
Riiigt! you were using military communications jargon when you, posting as Anonymous@1:08PM SAID: " ...A lot of people who have posted on this blog have proven Jamie's point. "
Is that what you're asking us to believe? If so ..you're damn sure lying NOW.
In every single " Jamie Ruehl" post you NEVER refer to yourself in the third person. It's always " I this...I that".
But in your self admitted ANONYMOUS post ... it's " ...A lot of people who have posted on this blog have proven Jamie's point. "
How many other Anonymous posts are actually you? Why should we believe anything you say now?
My Momma told me to always tell the truth -- ya see, that way you only gotta remember ONE story.
Tragic. Well - I've done MY civic duty. Dear friends, exposing Bushite & Neocon prevaricating, doublespeak and propaganda is not always pretty. But it's REAL easy.
Remember this: next time somebody wants you to believe that you are " apathetic" merely because you think the president is GOOFY --you should breath deep the prevailing winds -- you might just smell a rat.
Alter or Abolish:
I disagree with a lot of what the author says, so please do not write me off as a supporter and/or the author himself.
With that said....
Are you kidding me? I am no doctor, but I believe we are dealing with a serious case of delusions of grandeur. Get over yourself! I have never seen such a display of masturbatory self-righteousness from a guy armed with a keyboard in my entire life. For someone who so often uses the phrase "tough guy", you seem to think the same of yourself. You deliver rude, condescending, arrogant comments on Cincinnati.com all day long, and then publicly celebrate them like you just won the super bowl. Move on, you are impressing only yourself.
Dear Derek: Oh, " delusions of grandeur" have I? That's the same thing they said about Superman.
LOL seriously though.
I have only used the phrase " tough guy" once. ( count 'em) That's not " often" even by your standard of honesty, is it?
You say: "I have never seen such a display of masturbatory self-righteousness from a guy armed with a keyboard in my entire life".
You need to surf around some. I would suggest: http://www.billoreilly.com/ He has taken it to a whole new level.
As for the rest; I'm " rude " and such. Well, I would eagerly apologize for any rude comment I have made.
Could you please point one out for me? Other than the single " tough guy" slur. I do regret that and apologize to Anonymous@1:08PM( or whomever) for that outrage.
However, when you look at some of the comments directed to me and hold them up for comparison to anything I have written, I sorta look tame. Wouldn't you agree?
Come on man, one "tough guy" is enough, being wrong about how many times you said that pales in comparison to impersonating someone else on a post? Don't I get a pass for that one minor mistake. As for rude, um....you are rude, there's no other way to put it.
Don't make me go back and start quoting you, just read your comments, the condescending banter speaks for itself. You are not the intellectual firebrand dispensing creative and useful knowledge you aspire so much to be. You really just come off sounding arrogant and pretentious. The only place in which you are so brilliant exists only in your blogger mind.
Do you plan on writing an article and submitting it? You do have the time, right? It doesn't seem you do much else.
We are all eagerly awaiting your Last Word posting....I am sure you are full of enough profound words to satisfy us all (or at least yourself).
I will agree with Mr. Anonymous at 12:11, "douchelord" is a fine description".
I shall retire from this discussion now, and I am sure you will take that as victory and go to a private room to "celebrate" alone. Thank you for being a shining example of the arrogance and overbearing attitude that Americans have been much maligned in other cultures.
Well. Thank You, Miss Manners.
I feel that alter or abolish is making some valid points in this spirited debate. hahahaha
Rock On dude
As my post becomes relegated to yesterday's news . . .
I want to thank those who gave me encouragement.
I hope everyone else can see my post for what it was meant to be: An attempt at a non-partisan appeal to motivate people to take part in their government.
For those who don't agree with my observations: Very good! I am glad you and I can "talk" about it here peacefully on a blog and not have to use violence as a means of communication.
"The international community will be measure not by our intentions, but by our accomplishments." Ehud Olmert May 2006.
A proper salute to your blog sir, As a Vietnam vet I respect, and honor, your service, and view! I can see, as I read the attached blogs, there are many who do not have a clue about civic duty. I also see there are those who do. The fact I see responses from those that understand this Republic, and the principles involved, gives me confidence. A confidence that we will stand together as we face the evil that seeks to destroy this Republic.
You saw the faces of those with hopes and desires to live a free, independant life. The faces of people who's lives had been directed by whims of factious government. A ruling party creating turbulant conditions to fulfill their will. The people of Iraq were subjects to this will and forced to fall in line. You saw the faces of Americas foundation. The people who fought a despotic ruling power, and created a government of, for, and by the people. A country with people who knew, understood, the needs of their community, state, and country. A union that voted to elect representation to meet those needs. A union formed with the direction of a Constitution to meet the needs of its whole.
For the people of the U.S. to begin to "care again?" they need to learn again. We need to start taking responsibility for our neighbors, community, state, and country. Blind interpretation of select Constitution Articles does not work to support this union. It is done to support the cares of faction.
"The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other discriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good."
Words from Madison's 10th federalist paper during the constitutional convention. The above is part of his argument that a Republic not a Democracy is the most stable form of government. Those cares will only be realized by those who practice them.
Thank-You Officer Ruehl
One day we evil douchelords shall prevail! All we need is a suitcase douche-Nuke! Then and only then will the world be " springtime fresh" !
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