One of the most discouraging things about American politics is how little money is spent on
educating voters and how much money is spent on
manipulating voters. In American elections, fear is the primary tool of motivation.
Fear appeals to the limbic, reptilian, lower brain functions. Reason appeals to the cerebral, mammalian, higher brain functions.
George Will recently pointed out that the 4.2 billion to be spent in this election cycle is half of what Proctor & Gamble spends on advertising in a year, which I feel misses the point. The point is not quantity, but
quality. We are not trying to get people to buy Tide, we are trying to decide who should be a world leader, and I don't think the methodology employed should be the same.
In his
Report to Greco Nikos Kazantzakis wrote: "The human being is a centaur...He has been fighting, again for thousands of eons, to draw himself, like a sword, out of his animalistic scabbard. He is also fighting-this is his new struggle-to draw himself out of his human scabbard."
I fear when we let unconscious motivations rule the political process we are retreating into our animalistic scabbard.
(The complete quote of 'As a Great Cry' can be found at
http://www.ithaca.edu/dani/inspirations/ideas/greatcry.txt)