Analytical Writing: "Demos in Making Informed Decisions"
The art in analytical writing is seldom seen by us as students and as readers; it seems boring and subjective, and we fear the rigid cruelty of English-class rubrics too much to deviate or explore the genre. But, as in many misunderstood aspects life, analysis can surprise you by being an altogether artistic and creative way to express new ideas by drawing upon the ideas of others. Perhaps what scares us away (or puts us to sleep) is the idea that a creatively written analytical essay, especially in a school setting, can really only be done in structure; how we approach our progression of ideas and how we decide to use other works to justify our ideas. Granted, it requires a bit more work and organized thought than the beloved free verse poem, but if done right, analytical writing can be elegantly creative- fun to read and even more fun to interpret.
-Adithi
An Excerpt From "Demos in Making Informed Decisions"
by Irene Koo from Woodbridge High School
The United States was founded on the basis of democracy, where the people have the power to make necessary changes by holding their elected official accountable for policies. The privilege and power given to the citizens have raised the question of whether or not the people are capable of making informed decisions about complex policies and politics. As voters whose choices contribute to the creation of laws, citizens ultimately shape the government. Consequently, determining the ability of the public to make informed decisions is crucial for strengthening the American democracy. The public elects representatives – based on their knowledge and preferences – who in turn make laws and determine the policy of the country. Citizens do not have sufficient knowledge and information to cast votes that correctly represent their unbiased beliefs, due to the way human behavior dictates unconscious mental shortcuts, their unwillingness to change their opinions, and susceptibility to rhetorical strategies which prevents them from making rational decisions that accurately reflect upon their unfiltered beliefs. As a result of these flawed behavioral tendencies, the government structure should be reformed to facilitate the decision-making process of the citizens through the promotion of referendums and minimal use of technical jargons in policies.
The strength of the United States government lies in the hands of the citizens, as the nation’s democracy allows the decisions of the people to shape its laws and regulations. Consequently, it is crucial for voters to cast accurate votes, which are defined as votes that are minimally influenced by outside factors. Scholars and pundits debate whether or not average citizens are capable of making informed decisions in response to complex issues, as some are skeptical about the abilities of the people with their frequently irrational mentality.
Regardless of intelligence or eagerness, the majority of voters are unable to cast accurate votes as their unconscious usage of heuristics often errs throughout complex decisions (Kuklinski and Quirk 167). As mental shortcuts used by people daily, heuristics are utilized to extrapolate “cues” from the surroundings and make conclusions. Although heuristics are instrumental in executing simple tasks, they were not designed for use in making complex decisions. In addition, if people are exposed to inaccurate context or cues, their decisions will fail to reflect upon their actual beliefs as the effectiveness of mental shortcuts depend on the environment. If an average citizen casts a vote that does not accurately correlate with his or her beliefs due to the misuse of heuristics, “no one tells him his choice was wrong... Even in the unlikely event that he is interested in improving his political heuristics, therefore, he’ll have a hard time doing so” (Kuklinski and Quirk 169). Because they will not be able to recognize their previous mistakes, it is impossible for the voters to adapt their mental shortcuts to adjust to complicated political matter.
Similar to the misuse of heuristics, irrational human behavior prevents average citizens from making informed decisions as they are unwilling to change their opinions and are selective in what they perceive. It is evident that people do not respond quickly to the rapidly changing status quo, as the voters often “reflect past political battles that have shaped the ways in which voters thought about politics and government” (Popkin 23). The demos does not make decisions in response to the current proposals of the government; rather, they recall previous events to select their current preference. Consequently, the demos is incapable of making decisions as they are unable to adapt to the evolving systems and policies of the government and therefore inaccurately refer back to the past to select the best resolution for the status quo. Ultimately, the public bases their ideologies according to previous governmental actions and their emotions, which are frequently irrational. Once the citizens adopt opinions, the perceived thoughts are permanent, as humans are unwilling to change their beliefs, and “...cognitive processes generate systematically false beliefs to promote certain kinds of behavior” (Kulinski and Quirk 164). Rather than attempting to understand different aspects of an issue, citizens unconsciously promote the ideas that they already have developed. Consequently, it is almost impossible to change biases because it is less likely that the people will absorb information that is contrary to their beliefs. Regardless of the exposure that certain information receives, the demos absorbs only the facts that they want to recognize due to this behavioral tendency. Humans’ uncompromising opinions also lead to the tyranny of the majority in controversial issues. Because they are incapable of understanding and broadening their scope of understanding, the demos is unable to adopt the minority’s ideas. The people lack the sufficient skills to make informed choices in complicated issues as their behavioral and mental inclinations prevent them from quickly assimilating new ideas.
Try it out on your next essay; play around with your choice of sources, progression of ideas, and structure in your argument. Trust us, it'll make your experience- and your grade- a little more tolerable. Much love and keep on writing!
-Adithi
