America's Informed Consent?

I’m not pro-war. But I haven’t quite figured out how “anti-war” I am either.

There has been a lot of discussions on the war in Afghanistan in the media, the right complains Obama hasn’t responded quickly enough and criticizes the fact he hasn’t sent more troops, and the left continues to cite polls saying that an overwhelmingly large number of Americans do not want a war in Afghanistan.

Even assuming that these polls are accurate in measuring public opinion, how much weight should the government place on it anyways? In a democratic society, should the majority ALWAYS rule when it comes to foreign policy and decisions of national importance, especially when other polls show just how ignorant the average American is of the world? Can the average Americans really make informed decisions on these matters, and should we always take into account what these opinions are?

It makes me think of the principle of informed consent in the medical world—when doctors have to get the permission of their patients before performing procedures. In these situations, who should the patient trust, a doctor with years of medical training, or his personal “gut feeling”? In highly complicated medical matters, could the average patient really understand what is going on and truly make an informed decision within the short timeframe they are given to decide? When it’s your body and your life on the line, you want to feel like you are in control and that you should always have the decision to do what you want, but wouldn’t doctors make the best decision in most cases?

It all depends on if you trust the doctor, just like if you trust the President and the government to make the best choice. Because after 9-11, polls showed that huge numbers of Americans supported a war in Iraq (the left weren’t quoting these polls then…). Not suggesting that Bush truly cared about public support when deciding whether to go in, but the pro-war side of the media surely capitalized on it. Now that the focus has shifted to Afghanistan, is Obama really looking at what the average American wants to do in the Middle East, even if he is or isn’t, should he be?

This would, of course, be a totally different conversation if Americans really knew what was going on outside their own neighborhood. But until that day comes, are we truly living in a democratic society, and is that even a good thing?