Tyrannyspeech

Sam Baeza
Ms. Gardner
Period 6
10 November 2015
Tyranny of Political Ignorance
Politics. This word holds a very negative connotation for many, for the idea of
politics has become veiled behind a masquerade of lies, exaggerations, and ignorance.
Now its no secret that our generation has become significantly disinterested in politics,
and I'm not just talking about the absurd schemes of buffoons such as Donald Trump. 1
According to CIRCLE (The Center For Information & Research on Civic Learning and
Engagement.)
19.9 percent of 18- to 29-years old cast ballots in the 2014 elections.
That
was the lowest youth turnout rate ever recorded in a federal election(Youth Voting).
With our generation so disinterested in such important ideological features of our
countries, how can we
initiate a new era of innovation and ingenuity for our world.2
As a
highschooler myself, it pains me to watch blatant lies air on television, repeated as truth,
which is why I have issued myself this topic.3
Of course it's difficult to emphasize the
importance of political knowledge and interest among young people, for we are not of
voting age yet. Interestingly enough, with the rise of social media, information has never
been so readily available, and with that we have started some of the most progressive
social movements in history.
We have the charisma, and the ideas, and willpower, and the
tools, and the intellect, and the resources, and we have to accept that it's on US- to steer
our country back on track. 4
However, with this rampant influx of information, false and
Allusion
Alliteration
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Antithesis
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2
distorted information has become commonplace. Not only has this false information
risen to the top of social media outlets and television, but this information is perceived as
true by many. This saturation of information has led some to be so closed off from facts
and new ideas that their political views are nothing more than a jumbled haze of lies and
distortions; people fear change after all, so they turn to channels that reinforce their
own views rather than expand on them, which leads to a massive ignorant and angry
population.
Education needs to be the enabler of understanding; Ignorance looks to dismantle
it.5
The minds of young people are the laziest and least informed on our OWN
GOVERNMENT that they've ever been.
And in its in direct correlation to the education
system, which seems to breed ignorance rather than dismantle it. 6
School, public or
private has become the primary location for social interaction, at school is where many
of your ideas on life, people, and well politics evolve. If our schools were to perhaps
display common media channels whilst analyzing them with students to properly identify
the truth and falsity, students would then have the ability to make more informed
choices regarding what they see or hear, and this would theoretically lead to a more
enlightened society. The most terrifying aspect of all this, is that television channels who
air their programs to millions of people, are actually the main proprietors of these lies,
and no one seems to have the audacity to confront them. Why?7
For example,
Politifact.com has created a table for categorizing quotes of popular news anchors, only
10% of what Fox News relays to its viewers is entirely true. While 38% of what they say
are utter lies(FOXs File). The left wing equivalent, MSNBC, isn't much better: Only 12%
Chiasmus
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6
of information of their information is entirely true, and 20% of what they say is
false(MSNBCs File).
It's extremely important for people to develop their own ideas on politics, politics
more so than any other aspect of daily life. Young children come to school with
information
from their parents that may not be correct, they have and will continue to regurgitate
that information and spread it to other children. And this is why I cannot stress enough,
how important it is to approach a concept so serious as politics at such a young age.
Which in retrospect may seem almost cruel to some, for they wish to keep the innocence
of their child in tact. Children need to be exposed to various forms of media. Much of this
is derived from the saturation of information. There is so much information out there it's
difficult to determine which is right and which is wrong. If these changes were to take
effect it would be crucial that a political middle ground/neutrality is upheld in school.
Much of the corruption currently thriving within our government can be
attributed to political ignorance. Many of the current presidential candidates thrive and
feed off of ignorance. If we were to further discuss and reveal the truth to young people,
perhaps the fear mongering tactics used in campaigning would be far less effective.
I
don't wish to undermine any of your political views, for that is your own decision.8
I only
wish to educate people, to explain what these old white men who speak in riddles,
language that is confusing and pedantic, whom are blaming everyone but themselves
while not initiated solutions either.
Why are the men and women who are suppose to
lead us, behaving like children?9
Let's not make the same mistakes our parents made.
8
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Let's make informed choices and truly understand what is happening around us. Lets not
let ignorance mangle our perceptions.10
We need to be that change.11
Works Cited
"FOX's File."
FOX's File
. Tampa Bay Times, 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"NBC's File."
NBCs FIle
. Tampa Bay Times, 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"Youth Voting."
CIRCLE RSS
. The Center for Information & Research on Civic
Learning and Engagement, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
10
11
Anaphora
Imperativesentence

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