Consumer behavior, essentially, has 6 stages: Problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, purchase, and post purchase evaluation. With this being an election year, every citizen has a choice to make that will decide the next four years of this country's path. Whether realized or not, this is just another consumption process that we can analyze. My question is, where in the 6 stages have the American people gone so horribly wrong?
Do they enjoy being lied to? Do they support the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in countries they can't even locate on a map? Do they understand the constitution of the fundamental ideas behind it? Is forceful seizing of another's wealth and redistributing it to those in need really compassion? Is it understood that this country was never set up to be a democracy, but rather a democratic REPUBLIC? Have you noticed substantive differences in the policies of our government in the past... oh, 20 years? Is the war on drugs effective, constitutional, and necessary? Do you feel safer now that the TSA is allowed to violate your right to privacy? Are you safer since the war on terror began? How much research do the American people do on their own, completely independent of the television networks? On and on and on my questions for the American people go. Its frustrating to never get an answer.
Lets be direct, i believe the American people have failed in the second step of the consumption process. People don't care anymore. They are lazy, unmotivated, apathetic, and crushed. However, the problem runs much deeper than not researching the information. The foundation upon which to apply the information simply isn't there for most. Most don't understand how the federal reserve is directly accountable for the housing bubble and financial collapse of 2008. The concept of blowback and its role in the terror attacks of 9-11 are unknown to nearly everyone. Most don't understand the ideas of libertarianism, or the role it played in the founding of this country. Economics can be used to support nearly any viewpoint, and therefore must be looked at skeptically. Most people get all of the information they use to form their beliefs from major news medias. (FOX, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Etc.) Its easy to do this, it takes little effort and little understanding. Parroting and regurgitating what other people are saying is a cop-out and a fundamental reason the course of our country has remained in a downward slide for decades.
Since the American people weren't even able to get past the second step of consumption effectively, i doubt most have properly evaluated alternatives. Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Andrew Napalitano, Ayn Rand, these are names that most people wouldn't recognize. (Ron Paul being a potential exception). These are people, that are often discredited and denounced by the major media outlets and, in turn, the American people. Its extremely unfortunate that this is true. Without reading the work that came from these minds and understanding the justification for the ideas in that work, the American people have chosen to reject these ideas outright. How shortsighted, shallow-minded, and ignorant. The two party system thrives in this country because of the lack of effort exerted by the populace. To think that we can classify 311 million people into two schools of thought is offensive to the extreme. It is however, easy, and thats the reason it continues to this day.
Rarely, if ever, is the easy course of action the correct course. Cheating, its easy, but is it right and will it produce the long run results that you want? Stealing, its easy, but is it right and will it produce the long term results you want. Eating junk food, its easy, but will it produce the long term results you want? Littering, its easy, but is it right and will it produce the long term results you want? Failing to think critically, its easy and comforting, but will it produce the long term results you want? No. The point of this blog post is to encourage anyone who reads it to reevaluate the beliefs you hold, the reason you hold these beliefs, and the choice you get to make in November. If you're told something, chances are there is an inherent bias associated with the information. If you were to evaluate the purchases of the past 12 years concerning politics, are you satisfied? Can you honestly tell yourself that you're leaving a better country for our children than we were given? Have things gotten better or worse? Is there more cohesiveness or animosity in our country? Are our relations around the world better or worse? And the most important question of all, why? Research, research, research. Don't believe anything i told you, don't believe anything the news tells you, don't believe anything your friends tell you, research the issues for yourself and form your own opinions. Its hard, time consuming, and frustrating, but also rewarding and enlightening.
If you don't put in the time to research and understand the product you're buying, its benefits and drawbacks, and the alternatives to the product, you could very well end up purchasing crap. This is what the American people have been doing for decades and continue to wonder why this country is in the toilet. There are viable alternatives out there, you just have to look for em.
http://reason.com/
http://rt.com/
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/
This last link is to Gary Johnson's election page. He is the 2012 Libertarian candidate for president. Like i said, look for yourself and decide for yourself. But being that we live in Bozeman, i figured people might be interested in knowing that he has climbed Everest (for the outdoor enthusiasts), supports legalizing marijuana, isn't funded by corporations like Obama and Romney, is against the NDAA, patriot act, and torture, and believes that government should not impose its values on marriage.
Remember what Obama ran on in 2008, and look into his promises and the outcome of these promises. Specifically research the issues surrounding the NDAA. If you're leaning more towards Romney, look into his foreign policy, blowback, the separation of church and state, and our current involvement in nation building overseas. Its scary stuff. And also, look into QE1, QE2, and the unlimited QE3. These represent the largest threat to our country and few people even know what they are, the effect they have, who supports them, why they are destructive, how they influence everything from the cost of education to lending rates and home prices. Research both sides of every topic, not just the side you believe to be right.
This is an important purchase, be sure you know what you're buying into.
