Letters: Citizens must take role seriously and stay informed

In 2002 I went to a book signing by Ralph Nader for his latest book, “Crashing the Party.” One of the most important things that he said on that day was that most Americans do not take their jobs as citizens very seriously. As citizens we have a tremendous responsibility to be informed about the current issues and their history.

This year I asked many voters who they preferred in the presidential race and why. Answers ranged from “I do not like the way this nation is going” (Trump supporters) to “I want to see a woman in the White House” (Hillary supporters). Most of the time, if I probed a little further to ask about issues that were not going how they wanted them to go or how a woman would do things differently, I received sound bytes in return. I was amazed at how passionately people felt about their candidates without a lot of facts to support their views. This year very few people studied the details. An uninformed electorate in a democracy is a disaster.

To move past this election of personalities and tweets, we, as an electorate, can take some positive steps. The first step is to become informed. Read a newspaper, better yet, read two. Take the time to watch in-depth news shows that get behind the headlines. Fake news, post-truths, tweets and social media do not take the place of hard news. Pick a few issues to follow. Soon you will see the connections among these issues and patterns will emerge.

The second step is to become aware of the history of the issues. Reread our Constitution to learn the wisdom of our founding fathers. Most of these issues have been around in some form for a long time.

Thirdly, become a joiner. Join groups that specialize in the issues that interest you. Choose groups that have realistic goals and that respect our Constitution and our history. You need not have a lot of spare time or money. Most groups have low cost membership fees. You need not be incredibly active in these groups. As a member you will gain access to information that is not easily found. Groups inform members when key votes in Congress occur on key issues. This information is vital to a democracy. Congressmen are affected by a flood of emails, rallies, and phone calls on a particular bill.

Finally, fight the two biggest threats to our democracy: money and legislative gerrymandering. Demand to know the origins of the money connected to a candidacy. Make it cool to have people run for office using small donations only. And fight to end specially drawn legislative districts by state legislators that negate a person’s choice when voting.

Elected officials act more intelligently when they know the electorate is watching. But that electorate must be well informed and have a sense of history. Otherwise we get the kind of government that we deserve.

Jan Goldberg, Riverside

Tycoons and buffoons

Based upon selections made to date, President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is shaping up to be a mixture of tycoons and buffoons, leavened by a heavy sprinkling of retired generals.

James Van Vliet, Sycamore

Swamp Creatures

In 1932, FDR’s trusted advisers were collectively know as his Brain Trust. In 2016, the new presidential advisers, as promised, are Donald Trump’s Swamp Creatures.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn