As I attempted to discuss politics in my former country, one young cousin commented wryly that individuals are not preoccupied with politics like Americans are; people are too worried about daily economic survival and loss of “entitlements.”
After decades of communism, the culture of dependency is strongly ingrained and is not likely to go away. Voters are too uninformed, he added. They say, ‘who cares who is elected, they are all corrupt,” but then eagerly accept the meager bribes of $15-$20 in exchange for their vote, whether it’s a vote for mayoral elections or for higher office, and then line up for the promised “social benefits.” Once they obtain said benefits, they complain that nothing ever changes in society because it is all rigged against the poor. Sounds familiar?
