Information gap: The new technology, voter apathy reason for real, profound concern

There is a dangerous trend taking hold across the country -- and it might even be happening in your own back yard.

Forget the yick yack about asking for identification to keep those who shouldn't be voting from casting ballots all around the city. And forget the other argument, too, that any rules asking someone to show ID at a voting booth will keep them from casting their ballots.

That is not what the political parties should be worried about -- and that's not why you should be up in arms either.

The harsh reality is, there simply aren't enough people who are informed on the issues or who even are concerned enough about their own futures to get out and to vote in the first place.

If they consume news at all, it is in micro-bits and it is only half the story, if it is not already tainted by some activist's bias. And what is even worse are the ones who consume the news second-hand from one of these micro-news consumers or those who simply do not care at all.

Now these same people who say they do not have time to keep up with what is happening in their communities and in their country are social media addicts. In fact, in some of the younger circles -- you know, the people who will take care of us someday -- texts are the extent of their reading, period. Well, that and what is on E! News.

And just as knowledge and education help people succeed in life, so, too, does information about their communities and leadership allow them to create a better country.

We need to carve out more time for knowledge. We need to care what our city council and county commissioners are doing -- and what the school board has decided about our children's futures.

We need to know that there is crime and that communities are facing challenges trying to keep our families safe.

We need to know where our money is going in Raleigh and to help set the priorities.

We need to speak up and to have something to say when we do. And we need to decide -- not allow party machines to decide -- who is going to be our voice in Washington.

We need to be proactive rather than reactive.

That is how you keep a country strong and how you repay the men and women who have lost their lives making sure that you have the right to determine your own destiny.

And could there be a better weekend to think about that responsibility -- or to make a solemn promise to live up to the honor of receiving such a gift?

Published in Editorials on May 25, 2014 12:50 AM