Ignorance: the scourge of democracy

Our democracy has become dysfunctional, and it’s all part of the sideshow of distraction.

Meanwhile, special interests — read moneyed interests — have taken over the legislative decision-making processes that are intended for all, not just for the wealthy few.

I was privileged to serve as a legislative intern during the financially desperate 2010 Washington state legislative session. Revenue forecasts at the time were in the red in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, and I was a fly on the marble walls of the domed legislative building in Olympia as legislators with divergent ideologie...