Democracy's Challenge

In the present age, American's find themselves in a desperation of torn ideals.  Some are happy the way things are and would rather turn a blind eye to the more explicit facts. Others have developed a sense that something is very wrong with politics today.  This is one of Democracy's Challenges: The people and how much they are allowed to know. "Gone is the popularity of the unbiased news anchor, replaced by the outspoken commentator who not only presents the news, but influences our understanding of it through commentary, supported by a cast of carefully chosen pundits. Some of these presentations digress into petty, self-serving behavior" (Fogarty).  So here stands the question, are American's allowing to turn a blind eye or should the information be more available to those who seek it?
Another challenge is more inner related to the politicians themselves. Greed.  "Politicians spend more time raising more money than ever before...Running for office is increasingly reserved for those with money or those who know people who have it" (p.12).  This gives the perception that people who have money and power are the true running hearts of this nation.  But what about the bleeding heart, sweating young american pulling two jobs and going to full time school. Why aren't they being heard? Why aren't they the ones being interviewed. "The culture of money has even seeped into the way ordinary citizens behave politically...Citizens now perform their civic duty by contributing money as opposed to working on a campaign or writing a letter to their representative" (p.13).  So it seems that the more money a person has the better chances that person has of winning an election or at least that is what it seems like in the broad view.
"The opulence on board ship [Titanic] while the owners skimped on lifeboats is all too reminiscent of the immense resources society devotes to satisfying extravagand consumer desires while investments in the public sector...are underfunded" (p.4).  The example of the Titanic compared to democracy hit a hard note, the wealthy are percieved to be more important then the peasants.  We could break down the ship part by part for how it related classes from top to bottom deck but I think the point is clear. When in trouble, politicians like to jump ship and leave the problems for the poorer citizen to handle. 

Fogarty, Jim. "Titanic Twist and the Road to Truth | United States | Epoch Times." Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News | Epoch Times. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/43347/.

 "The Politics of Power" by Ira Katznelson, Mark Kesselman, and Alan Draper