Finally, an Epiphany

This will probably be the most radical post, but the following is a thought that has just come to me out of the necessity to make it obvious that I am using a topic that was discussed in class. The topic: structural violence and the unequal distribution of… well everything. This topic ties in with the view I have on the world which says that somebody is always reaping the benefit because of the way things are unless you change them. With this mindset, I have come to understand why it is that the Electoral College is the way it is. It has taken me nine posts to reach the conclusion that the College’s structure which was based on the Colonial American social values of humility, temperance, individualism, and factionalism is perpetuated and reflective of today’s society.

The reason the Electoral College remains unchanged is because we still have these social beliefs.

We like to think of ourselves as a more civilized and advanced society than what the Thirteen Colonies were, but in the sense of government and the election of our President we are the same. Although it may be written in the Declaration of Independence, “… that all men are created equal,” this document is not law; the Constitution does not say that. The value that all men are created equal is a newer belief that has emerged alongside the various social movements during the Twentieth Century. The Electoral College was not meant to make the election of the president a process whereby everybody’s vote was equal. It was a way to put structural violence into the government by cementing the idea that there were unequal groups of people in American society. Colonial America was characterized by indentured servitude, slaves, uneducated farmers, and then the rich white males who were the face of government. Yes, the face of government has been changed today with more ‘average’ people sitting in Congress and Barak Obama being the first black President, but the Electoral College continually reiterates the fact that American society likes factions and inequality.It creates a system of structural violence that is a, “[c]hronic, historically entrenched political-economic oppression and social inequality” (Bourgois 426). As I have discussed, the College aimed to promote a space for discussion between the people of the lower uneducated populace and the educated elite of society.

The reason the College still exists is because there is still such divisions throughout American society!

Not even discussing the reasons for the vast differences and flaws in the education system that in turn perpetuate and force groups to stay in one socio-economic class, there are still the people who do not understand government and are not educated enough to care. This was evident leading up to the election when my friends were abuzz with excitement. Everybody excitedly declared to each other who they were voting for, but even at college there are still those people who say they do not know or care enough about politics to get involved.