the ignorance of the masses

Rav Avigdor Miller on Learning From Voting Mistakes

Q:

What can we learned from the election of Elizabeth Holtzman (Democrat, House of Representatives and then District Attorney of Kings County, Brooklyn)?

A:

We can learn a great deal. We can learn that the public is not aware of the necessity of protecting their interests. I won't go into that now; next time when there is an election we have to talk about it more. But it is important for the Orthodox public to wake up – the other public are beheimos; we can't talk about them because they don’t understand the issues at all; they read the newspapers, they listen to the radio, and they are prisoners of television and they swallow all the propaganda that is fed to them. And if a Democrat party chairman tells them to vote straight Democrat, so that is what they do and therefore they elect somebody who is harmful for their interests. And many of the benefits to the public that could have been gained by means of a different candidate go lost.

People who want to protect their interests, have to take action; and it is already a little late in the season – the Orthodox Jews have to wake up and realize they have to vote not for what somebody promises to give them some benefit, some handout, some small program or some privilege; they have to vote for the overall benefits to the general public because what the public benefits from, the Orthodox Jew is also going to benefit. It is very important to be aware of the issues and if you yourself are not fully competent, then you should consult the Torah leaders who know what is what.

TAPE # 385