Indifference has corrupted the United States. From the president posting artificially-generated pictures of himself and others to constant discussions of the radical or woke left, the U.S. is suffering from its own lack of concern for pressing political issues.
U.S. politics has turned from meaningful discussions between leaders to public arguments over podiums, leaving the real country’s problems on the back burner.
President Donald Trump finds it acceptable to make a fool of himself in front of the entire country — and the world — on a fairly regular basis. With the White House posting photos and videos of himself generated by artificial intelligence as prominent cultural and fictional figures, such as the pope, a Jedi from Star Wars and even a king, the U.S. begins to resemble a carnival instead of a proper country.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the White House has made people cringe over unprofessional, out-of-place commentary on a serious issue during the Trump administration.
Following the government shutdown on Oct. 1, multiple government websites featured this message, or a similar one: “Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
Websites including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice all feature some degree of messaging that blames Democrats for the shutdown of the government, with the websites attributing their lack of updates to the “radical left.”
The White House comment line, reachable at 202-456-1111, is also not available to citizens, with current White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt condemning Democrats for the shutdown.
“Democrats in Congress have shut down the federal government because they care more about funding healthcare for illegal immigrants than they care about serving you, the American people,” Leavitt said in the White House comment line voicemail message.
Not only is the accusation ridiculous to hear from the mouth of a politician, but it isn’t even true.
Democrats are calling for a reversal of the funding cuts set to be enacted by Trump aimed at decreasing federal funding for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. While immigrants, labeled as “qualified aliens” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, do receive federal public benefits like Medicaid, the largest group assisted by Medicaid funds is U.S. citizens.
Almost 78 million people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 2023, receiving a total of nearly $856 billion. Immigrants only received $3.8 billion of the fiscal budget for that year, a minute .4% of the total Medicaid spending for 2023.
The language isn’t foreign. This isn’t the first time immigrants have become a source of contention in political conversations. This also isn’t the first time Trump scapegoated issues on what he deems as the “radical left.” Post-government shutdown in January of 2018, Trump forced the blame onto the shoulders of Democrats in a similar manner.
But it’s not just Trump who isn’t taking modern political issues seriously in the U.S. Citizens and voters — people more directly affected by the lack of honest, legitimate politics and serious conversations about policy problems — have adopted a similar attitude.
47% of voters aged 18-29 voted in the 2024 presidential election, which was lower than the 2020 election at 50%. However, if you ask, they’re all almost certain to have an opinion about popular political issues generated by Trump’s policies — apparently not enough to civically engage, though.
Even more so, people in this age group feel they have the leverage to joke about serious political topics, only to separate themselves from the idea of being educated about them beyond the surface level. The death of Charlie Kirk is one of many great examples.
People lost their jobs over expressions of opinion about Kirk’s death. The absence of tact and decorum regarding something that has broader implications of a threat to free speech is mortifying.
Trump isn’t completely responsible for the increasing lack of serious attitudes toward pressing political issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the current eligible voters spent time typically used on developing and interacting with their peers stuck inside. These conditions were far from conducive to fostering connection or learning proper political and social conditioning.
Political socialization begins in childhood, with parents being the largest influence on opinion formation. However, as individuals get older, political beliefs grow more centered around school and various peer groups, especially during more formative years.
With this apparent lack of socialization between developing adolescents during the pandemic and online communities increasingly providing a basis for political socialization, it’s not hard to understand why desensitization to topics of violence, death, pain and suffering could have the potential to become a widespread issue among future generations if modern political culture fails to change.
Citizens have an obligation to be civically engaged, but civic engagement does no good if those initiating political debates don’t show much care beyond sensationalizing the next issue. Current U.S. politics is nothing more than something to be laughed at or a fight between partisans rather than a genuine source of civic guidance, and we have to do better.
