Politics in the Land of the Free

We discussed American politics at a dinner-party at my friend Yianni's house, in the village of Mariolata, in the mountains of central Greece. Somebody asked me whether it is true that many Americans don't know where Greece is.

I remembered that when I was a student in Lewiston, Maine, a few years ago, friends told me that they do not know exactly where Greece is. I suppose that many Americans don't know where Iraq is.

"Americans are not educated," Yiannis said.

I was surprised that Yiannis was critical of the education of Americans. Greek education is not the envy of the world.

Fifty years ago in Mariolata there were no paved roads, electricity, nor telephone and the nearest high school was in a far away town. In the age of globalization Mariolata is an economic backwater.

Yiannis works for the social security office of the nearby town of Amfikleia, and his wife, Yianna, is a barber.

Yiannis, who also works as farmer, knows that the insecticides and herbicides used in commercial farming contaminate the soil. Like other ecologically minded farmers in the village, Yiannis and his mother Lelouda keep chickens, sheep and pigs, grow vegetables and make wine of their own grapes.

Yianna served delicious pork with fresh vegetables and Yiannis poured glass after glass of home made wine.

"How do you know that Americans are not educated?" I asked.

"You can't say they are educated if they don't know where Greece is," Yiannis said.

I remembered my American friends, from Lewiston, Maine, who were not aware of the issues of foreign policy, nor were they aware of the issues of the politics of their own country. Dave, a radio technician, said that he thought politicians were swindlers. His partner Jessica, a secretary, their friend Ray, who was unemployed, and Mark, who worked at a brick factory, agreed. Jack, who worked at a shoe factory, had no opinion of political issues but he did not like to hear criticism of government policy. And really, how can a person have an opinion on a political problem if he is not aware of the issue.

Aristoteles said that man is a political being. In a democracy, politics is the joint action of a community managing its affairs. If the members of the community don't take the management of their affairs in their own hands, somebody else will manage them. But to manage their affairs they need a political education to be aware of the issues that concern them.

Many Americans might not want to know what is going on in Iraq, because they don't feel that it threatens their security.

But do Americans want to know about the politics of their own country?

Why do only 50 per cent of Americans vote? Is it because they are not aware of the political issues? In the land of the free, education is not equally available to all. Citizens have a right to an education, but the poor don't get as good an education as the rich. My friend Randy told me that Lewiston is divided in two sections, which he delineated. When I asked him to elaborate he shrugged. I reflected that indeed in one part of town were detached houses with neatly kept gardens, and tree-lined streets, and in the other part of town were three-deckers and unattractive streets.

There is a stark contrast between rich and poor neighborhoods in American towns. The contrast is even more striking in cities like New York.

How can it be that in the world's richest country there are thousands of homeless people? In some poor neighborhoods there is a drug problem. Young people addicted to drugs rob people on the street, or sell drugs, to finance their habit. Their addiction and the harsh realities of life on the street make their life hell. How is it that thousands of teenagers in America take the path of self destruction? Are they not told about the hazard of drug abuse at school?

I have often wondered whether poor people in the land of the free are really free. Americans like to view themselves as a free and independent people, opposed to the interference of the state in their affairs. If you live in a log cabin, you probably don't want to know about politics in Washington. That is probably the reason you are there.

But if man is not after all a political being, he is an economic being. If you can get by fishing and hunting in the forest you don't need the economy. But most people depend on the economy and that makes them economic beings.

Most Americans don't know what Bush's economic policy is and nobody expects them to. But if your son was a drug addict and a member of a criminal gang, wouldn't you wish that he had a better education?

Why do rich neighborhoods have better schools, health facilities and police than poor neighborhoods? These are political questions that a non-political being may never ask.

Neo-liberals have produced the gospel that the government is bad because it squanders tax-payers' money. But paying taxes gives people a say in the running of the state. Poor people need the help of the state more than the rich.

In a democracy, the government serves the needs of the people. But people need to be aware of political issues to make an informed judgment about them. If the people are not politically educated, government is run by a self serving elite. I remember asking my neighbor Jack what he thought of American politics. He assured me that America has great institutions of freedom. But when I asked him what the economic policy of the government was, he said he did not know.

My friend Yiannis, noticing that his question puzzled me, smiled and said: "How do Americans who don't know where Iraq is vote?"

I wonder how my friends in Lewiston reacted to the 11 September attacks, or what they think of Bush's policy on Iraq? Perhaps they think that Bush is a swindler. Perhaps they are not interested in the policy on Iraq.

If the people don't take government in their hands, it will not serve their interests. It will serve the interests of lobbies, which depend on the financing of powerful interest groups.

Why do ordinary Americans need to know where Iraq is?

One day, when they awaken and take government in their hands, Americans might become aware of foreign policy issues. But before that happens, they will want to know why the poor don't have access to the same education and health care as the rich.

Alexi Papasotiriou writes from Greece