Educating the Public

When asked what defines citizenship, many of us responded that citizens must be educated on issues in the political sphere. Citizens must be informed about local politics, world news, and how the political system operates, to name a few. I too agree that it is a citizen's duty to be educated. But why? And how do we determine who is educated enough? The author of The Good Citizen reminds us of a time when literacy and moral tests restricted people from voting. I look down upon these tests for I believe their intent was targeted at keeping minority groups from having a say. Putting this consideration aside, is education important enough to require voters to pass a literacy or moral test? What about those people who support a particular party based on uneducated assumption they have made? I think the dangers of having literacy and moral tests greatly outweigh the potential advantages they would provide. The Constitution protects all voices, not just the ones we deem 'good'.

If we still think education is important for citizens, we must look to other avenues to ensure that citizens receive a higher quality of information. We can turn to the media and demand they take more responsibility in providing the public with coverage of political debates and quality news stories. We can demand that school systems teach children about the importance of voting and being active in the political sphere. There will always be those citizens who do not take the time to become fully informed on issues, but it is their right to do so. Though we cannot guarantee every citizen will choose to become informed, it is our duty as a nation to provide the highest quality of information to our citizens.