Vogly's Politics in the Trenches: false premises with beneficial social effects

Politics in the Trenches

The purpose of this essay is to argue that Vogly's arguments contained in his book Politics in the Trenches, are based on false premises yet still provide a useful examination of society and its relation to politics. This essay will suggest that the disillusionment presented in the author's book is real and impactful, but its results and ultimate effect on society is mostly beneficial. By presenting an argument that declares the democratic processes are actually being strengthened by the willful ignorance of politics, demonstrate the strength of our nation and its ideals they were built upon by our founding fathers and the idealism presented in their approach to life and politics.

Useful Arguments

Vogly's attempt to reframe the founding fathers as pragmatists against the common accepted interpretation of them as being idealists reveals the lack of depth of understanding of democracy presented by the author. By insisting that the founding fathers were more pragmatic than idealistic is not a useful argument and hides the fact that the founding fathers exhibited qualities of both extreme idealism and extreme pragmatic value. Vogly therefore ignores the basic construction of ideas into material things, as all things are based in imaginative idea.

The inherent mentioning of religion contained in The Bill of Rights and the spiritual tone of the Declaration of Independence suggest that democracy and practical application of its tenets are rooted in idealism, spirituality, religion and faith. The spiritual aspect of the argument is also ignored as well, as the esoteric forces that drove our founding fathers to create a political system explained by Vogly are not properly addressed. Kokul (2013) agreed when he wrote "It shows that the members of the Constitutional Convention, the most influential group of men shaping the political foundations of our nation, were almost all Christians, 51 of 55 -- a full 93%. Indeed, 70% were Calvinists (the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and the Dutch Reformed), considered by some to be the most extreme and dogmatic form of Christianity."

Creating an Appropriate Paradigm

In understanding the principles of trust and value, one must have some moral ideal or guiding point that creates the behavior. The disillusionment experienced by society in general is a symbol of transformation and positive growth when viewed in the proper perspective. The word "government" was created from the Latin words meaning to " control the mind." Government is functioning well when it is not needed. The strength of a nation rests on many things, but the freedom to choose and not be a part of the polticial processes demonstrates the power of our democracy.

Democracy needs to be understood in a new manner to address the problems that Vogly presented in his work. Democracy is the reflection of the strength of the individual's power and having their own say in their manifesting their own destiny. As many grown tired and weary of political elections and tune out political efforts a transformation to individual responsibility has begun. This appears to be democracy working in its intended fashion.

The consent of the governed is an ideal that has long been undervalued in helping understanding they dysfunction that is very present in today's political arena. The Declaration of Independence is explicit in this idea: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed..." Volgy does present ample reason to demonize and criticize this political movement, however when viewed through the lens of consent and its relationship to democracy, the true strength of the ideal is being tested.

Media Issues

Vogly's arguments about the media and their role are also important in understanding the benefits of disillusionment and how the application of consent is important in the role of government. No one is forced to consume media. While the ever growing presence of television and computer screens make it difficult to avoid media, consent is still required to not only engage in the media, but more important to digest the media as truth and fact. The horrible examples presented by the author do have damaging repercussions in some aspects, however the resultant actions taken by those by withdrawing consent have great benefit.

Television is a powerful tool that can have damaging effects if it is not placed in its proper perspective. The failures documented by the author in his book suggest that television itself is a poor expression of humanity and its control is highly politicized. Those tuning out of politics need to tune out their TV. Davey (2012) wrote "So not only are negatively valenced news broadcasts likely to make you sadder and more anxious, they are also likely to exacerbate your own personal worries and anxieties. We would intuitively expect that news items reflecting war, famine and poverty might induce viewers to ruminate on such topics. But the effect of negatively valenced news is much broader than that -- it can potentially exacerbate a range of personal concerns not specifically relevant to the content of the program itself."