If a Tree Falls

Philosophers have titillated themselves for centuries wondering whether, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is present, does it make a sound. That philosophical nonsense actually has application to the last several American elections, though, so far as we are aware, no trees were involved.

For the past week pundits and analysts, as well as normal folk, have scratched their heads and wrung their hands in efforts to divine the cause of the Republican failures. Bad candidates, inadequate money, ignorant voters, ineptitude or outright malfeasance by Senator Mitch McConnell, slanted news coverage, and, of course, Donald Trump, have all come in for their share of the blame. Were all or many of these factors at work during the recent election? Ratcatcher cannot say with certainty which, if any, were actual causes of the debacle except for one – ignorant voters. The rest may have played roles of greater or lesser importance. The role of voter ignorance was huge and cannot be overlooked.

American politicians like to praise the wisdom and general good sense of the population – the voters – but that premise deserves examination and, perhaps, reevaluation. If voters make little or not effort to educate themselves about the candidates and issues before voting, are the efforts of candidates and the responsible media to educate them like trees falling in a woods with no one there to hear them?

It is beyond question that the American media, with very few exceptions, acts constantly as the media arm of the Democrat National Party. Most media outlets make no effort to report objectively; indeed, even a cursory review of the coverage of such events as the impeachment trials of President Trump, the events of January 6, 2021, the Biden energy policy, the Southern border of the country and the related immigration flood, the crime-ridden streets of American cities, to say nothing of the cover-up of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal would demonstrate that the so-called “legacy media” generally lies in its coverage or simply ignores the event altogether. Social media outlets are, if possible, worse in their misleading and censored coverage.

In this Orwellian atmosphere only a small handful of media outlets make a concerted effort to report in an even-handed manner. When the governance of this country is in issue, one might reasonably expect responsible citizens – voters – to take the trouble to learn the facts. By this time in our history, the role of Fox News, The Epoch Times, and a few other outlets is well-known to anyone who makes even the slightest effort to learn. Viewership of several Fox News shows far outstrips their competitors and yet accounts for only a tiny percentage of the public. Jesse Waters, who started as a “man in the street” for Bill O’Reilly, now regularly sends his own assistant into the streets of New York to ask passersby questions concerning government, elected officials, American history. And the Constitution. The ignorant responses are stunning. They reflect quite clearly the poor education the responders have received at the hands of their teachers. But more important – the responses indicate an abysmal level of ignorance that, quite frankly, ought to disqualify the responders from voting. The exercise of the franchise is way too important to be entrusted to people who cannot answer even the most basic questions about our government, or the identity of the candidates for whom they may be voting, or the issues which form the center of contention among the candidates.

Voters whose principal source of information about candidates or issues is what they have been told by friends or parents, are not prepared to make intelligent decisions. And those uninformed decisions affect all of the rest of us. The vote of the ignorant voter counts just as much as the vote of the person who has studied the candidates and issues closely. And those elections have spillover consequences far beyond the precincts of the candidate. A single example will suffice to demonstrate the point. John Fetterman was clearly unqualified to serve as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Anyone who heard him speak in the leadup to the election or heard his debate performance could not possibly entertain any doubt on his ability to serve. Nevertheless, he was elected. Only Fox News covered his disability or commented on his poor debate performance. All other legacy media covered it up or made excuses. Voters who did not avail themselves of the resources readily available to them did not know of his limitations. They elected him. Now, Mr. Fetterman, as one out of one hundred Senators, has an inordinately large influence on every American across the nation! His vote on any given issue may impose new taxes, regulations, or other restrictions or take away liberties of people who have no connection whatsoever with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Those votes were important, and they were cast in gross ignorance.

Blame bad candidates, inadequate money, ineptitude or outright malfeasance by Senator Mitch McConnell, slanted news coverage, and, of course, Donald Trump, certainly. But reserve your deepest scorn and disgust for the ignorant voters who were responsible for the election results!

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