Antidote to Political Spin, The

Social Studies Review, Fall 2004 by Whitmer, John

The 2004 presidential election has left many with an unsettling feeling in their stomachs. Much of this disequilibrium is the result of the hot air emanating from political spinmeisters. With the popularity of cable news programs, the fundraising success of 527 groups (named after section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code), and the evolution of political blogging, there exists a storm of misinformation that has the potential of blowing the voting cards out of the hands of the deluged electorate. It should be no wonder that most voters stay at home rather than brave their way to the voting booth through this gale of gibberish. Teachers of the politically unseasoned junior high, high school, and college students might find this especially unsettling since it is among eighteen to twenty-four year-olds that voter turnout is the lowest. One might be inclined to think that it would take a cartload of apples to keep the ailment of spinsickness out of the House Divided. Yet we teachers have the remedy not only to cure this infection, but to overturn the apple cart itself. The antidote is critical thinking.

The underlining assumption of most campaign strategists and political pundits is that the American electorate is not very sharp. With a few accusations of "flip-flopping" here and a few allegations of avoiding-the-draft there, many believe that the voter can be swayed to one side of the political isle or the other. In fact the whole premise of politics, it seems, is that Americans cannot distinguish between style and substance. The good news is that educators can change this by making their students critical thinkers. By making their classrooms political workshops, teachers can help students sharpen their tools of analysis, research, and discourse. After this apprenticeship, they will be able to enter into the political fray as journeymen.

One common assumption about politics is that it continues to get "dirtier" each year. Often this is used as an excuse for non-participation. I like to remind my students that the "dirtiest" presidential election was one of America's first. In 1800 the sitting president John Adams contended with the sitting vice-president Thomas Jefferson. Although George Washington had forewarned about the "baneful effect of the spirit of party" in his farewell address of 1796, American politics had split into two factions under the Adams administration: the Federalists Party, led by Adams and Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republican Party, led by Jefferson and James Madison. The election got so contentious that accusations of atheism (tantamount to calling a candidate communist during the height of the Cold War or a racist today) and of treason flew back and forth. Students are surprised to learn that despite this immense political tension, the election ended peacefully with Jefferson proclaiming at his inauguration, "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." This historical lesson lets students know that even the founding fathers participated in dirty politics, yet the system continued. For some students this will give them the sense that they are above this process and that their participation can actually help perfect the system.

For others, tragically, politics is simply too irrelevant. Far too many see politics as the realm of old (i.e. out-of-touch), rich (i.e. corrupted) white (i.e. enfranchised) folks (i.e. not-like-me). For these students, perhaps a viewing of Drew Barrymore's documentary, "The Best Place to Start," which is set to air as part of MTV's "Choose or Loose" voter registration campaign, will be helpful. For many students, Barrymore is a recognizable and therefore trustworthy face. In explaining her reasons for making the film, Barrymore said, "This was an opportunity not only to direct a film but to educate myself as well. From our history to our future and what is taking place in our world today, the evidence that every vote counts became abundantly clear on every step of this journey." At the very least, the film will allow for a teacher to bridge the generation-divide and begin a discussion of political participation. The film will also allow for a look into history. The film's title borrows a famous quote from the civil rights movement and the debate whether the vote would effectively end racial discrimination. The quote and the title point to enfranchisement as the beginning of equality. Teachers can use this as an entrepot into discussing the civil rights movement and the millions of Americans who fought for enfranchisement, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the March on Washington and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" to the church bombing in Birmingham that killed four girls to the assassination of three voter-registration volunteers during Freedom Summer to "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama. It was on the eve of police violence in Selma that King said, "We are not asking, we are demanding the ballot." President Lyndon B. Johnson responded by ushering the Voting Rights Act through Congress and causing a massive political realignment where Dixiecrats, such as Strom Thurmond, fled the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. In addition, teachers can open the historical record of female suffrage, discussing events such as Abigail Adam's entreaty to her husband John to "Remember the Ladies" as he helped write the Constitution, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, and the Nineteenth Amendment. Recounting these events, students will see that people like themselves fought and even died, never getting the opportunity to vote, so that future generation could. The exercise should demonstrate that in our country the right to vote is a privilege and not an entitlement.