The Government's Limits

From the beginning of American history, the government has never been completely transparent and open-minded through its policy and legislature. Past and present public figures have repeatedly manipulated their power to follow through with what they believe is right and have ignored the public’s opinions. In 2015, a Pew Research Center poll confirms this fact by illustrating how 74% of elected officials put their interests over the country’s. As a result, populations, either made up of tens of thousands or hundreds of millions, are being lead on and lied to by their own governments. Although many Americans are more aware of their political environment than the past, their sources and forms of protest remain very limited and biased.

               Overall, the media would be the most accessible source for the public to be caught up on the government's latest actions and opinions but remains unreliable and biased with a governmental influence. Local and even international networks convey their news in a way that favors one side. Our nation’s networks always portray the American government along with any United States citizen to be in the right while another country is conveyed as the enemy. After all, who would want their own to be considered the guilty party? Although it is constantly displayed on our present news, our nation has been using the same tactics for its entire history. Throughout the Mexican-American War, the government and  its corresponding media claimed that it was manifest destiny for Americans to go into war and capture Mexican territory. in order to expand. If an individual were to think this through, he or she would immediately realize the government's irrationality and impracticality. More recently, the Vietnam War was similarly transmitted through the media alongside government censorship. Johnson’s administration would inform the public by revealing false death count so the war would be seen as beneficial to every American. Furthermore, the government limited which stories journalists could publish. Walter Cronkite, a reporter on the war’s sidelines, had to approve every one of his stories through an intelligence officer.

               Additionally, the government provides very few opportunities for the people to have control and allow the government to be altered. In the nineteenth century, Henry David Thoreau similarly stated “As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways” (Thoreau 1022). With the writing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, it was established that the people have a right to speech, including but not limited to protests and petitions. However, these forms of speech have rarely made much of an impact on the government. Peaceful protests make no difference on everyday life and thus are ignored. Roaring, crowded riots are intercepted by government-led police, and hundreds if not more can be arrested. Petitions are even more disregarded and silenced. Since they are often only written and signed, political figures can ignore them with ease no matter the vast number of signatures and efforts on the people’s part. These powerless suggestions demonstrate how the government constricts its citizens and makes change hard and almost impossible to come by. Instead, the rulers take their own selfish initiative.

               As Thoreau urged his audience to stand for your “conscience”, I am asking you to do the same. Be more aware of your surroundings and realize what power the government has on you. Look past the contradictions and formulated news to seek the genuine truth. Let your opinion be known in any way you will. I’m not asking you to blindly follow my opinions but rather find your own and create change.