Kevin Panaro

Cynicism in Politics – Why it is Critical to Maintain an Open Mind in Local Communities and as a Country

In the era of Trump and the populist right movement that has overtaken the Republican Party, it is often said by many a political pundit that democracy is dying a protracted, painful, public death. That truth is irrelevant, and that alternative facts rule our country and partisan discussions. Television hosts, with their sensationalist shows devoid of any policy, talk endlessly of the decorum of politics and how modern leaders have no moral character. By doing so, they miss the point of elected officials altogether: to serve the people, not act properly. The fact politicians serve their corporate donors in order to secure reelection funds, and the severity of this issue, cannot be overstated. This project is intended to serve as a call to action not just for those in local communities, but really for the whole country at large. The media has co-opted discussions on actual policy and replaced them with childish bickering about the personal lives and verbal fumbles of politicians. Turn on CNN and one can see this chaos played out in real time; grown adults spew juvenile playground banter. Voters live and die by their self-imposed labels and refuse to examine the candidates based on policy and policy alone. Identity politics scourges the demographic landscapes of the nation, dividing people based on factors that they cannot control and cannot change; pointless. This capstone is pertinent to democracy, and everyone must embrace this spirit of careful discernment between candidates. If the country fails to make this change, all its citizens are doomed to suffer interminably at the hands of the powerful who wish to sew divisions on the basis of everything except the actual issues.