Democracy without Education is Tyranny in Disguise.

Blind Support

We all have our individual rights and free will to make decisions. To rally behind whom we think is the best in a particular situation but I wish we didn’t do it blindly. Before I start I feel the need to put up a disclaimer (ironically for those blindly supporting). I am in no way targeting any specific political, religious, or social groups that anybody belongs to. I am merely making an observation. I don’t know if it was always like this, I’m probably only now old enough to understand discourse or to interpret people’s actions but whether it is a thing of the past or recent development today it really works my nerves. What does? BLIND SUPPORT. Let’s be honest with ourselves here. Every person, institution or movement we support has flaws. It is up to us to point them out, voice our opinions and keep the ship a float. We are all human beings and flaws come with the territory. Why then do we pretend to agree with everything that comes out of the mouths of those we support? We support someone because MOST (not all) of his or her beliefs and ideas are similar to ours. But there will always comes a time when we will differ.

Take politics for instance; It’s quite alright for you and your neighbor to have differing opinions in regards to who should run the country and how it should be done, but what we all have to recognize is that the people we support don’t have all the answers. Similarly, if we don’t support a particular party it does not mean that all their ideas are totally wrong. What democracy affords us is the right to choose who we think will do the most good for our country. Blind support, however, has been eating away at democracy. I for one have not come across a single party in which I totally believe in. It’s okay to challenge those you support. Supporting the government doesn’t mean despising the opposition; just as supporting the opposition shouldn’t mean hatred of the government.

Sadly, blind support, seems to be affecting every area of our lives. How many times have we felt like telling our friends, “Hey, I don’t agree with what you’re doing”, but felt like that meant that we were no longer playing on their team. It’s the basis of gangs, cults and groups that oppress other groups. Nobody wants to speak up and have a differing point of view. In fact, formulating views of your own can be seen as treason to the group that you support.

I say all this to simply urge each one of us to think for ourselves. Hey, I’m no saint either. In fact the times that I’ve gone with the crowd, fully aware that their actions and views did not reflect mine, were the most troubling times of my life. I still think about them. What if I had said something? Are there people out there who label me based on ideologies that I don’t even believe, all because I was too afraid to voice my opinion for fear of seeming to be a traitor.

Most times I cringe when I think about my small island divided by politics, where no one listens but everyone argues blindly. What then was the point of our education? Why were we taught to think critically? Has our education system failed us if we can truly say that we agree with every decision that our party of choice puts forwards. Has it also failed us if we can’t accept that a plan put forward by those we aren’t in support of sounds better than what our own group has proposed?

Are we threatening democracy by not flexing our educated muscle? I for one believe that democracy without education is tyranny in disguise. Maybe there would not be as much turmoil if we understood what the repercussions of blind support were. Maybe if we understood that we were educated to build society with input from all sectors we would quickly shed this nasty habit. We aren’t twelve years old anymore where whoever we supported depended on the discussions overheard in our parents’ kitchens.  We can read, analyze and access information all on our own. We have a general knowledge of what is moral and immoral conduct and we know when good men are being attacked out of jealousy. So I pray that as a country we save ourselves and exercise our right to be individuals.