Ignorance, the 4th Estate, Education, Greed

On November 4th, 2025, the New York City voters, citizens or not, elected Vohran Mamdani as the mayor of their city. This was their choice in an open and free election. I asked myself, a third-generation citizen, “How could this happen?”. The man is a polished, thirty-three-year-old man with great hair. He is the son of rich parents which has afforded him the luxury of never holding a real job or starting his own company. He is a smooth talker and likeable. He is unfamiliar with the trials and tribulations of the vast majority of working people. So what! Many a citizen with nothing more than these slim cosmetics has been voted into a government office. Why am I concerned?

I am more than concerned. I am worried. Beneath that smooth and likeable façade, I know who he is. I know what he believes. He is a current day Karl Marx. Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory that critiques capitalism by explaining society through class struggle between the capital class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat). Marxism predicts that the exploitation of the working class will lead to a revolution where the working-class overthrows capitalism to create a classless, communist society where the means of production and distribution are controlled by the state. This guarantees a classless, equitable society where everyone is equal and shrink wrapped in Utopian happiness.

Mamdani claims to be a Democratic Socialist. This is a contradiction in terms. “Democratic” implies rule by the people. “Socialist” implies rule by the state. He denies that he is an antisemite. He clearly favors Hamas as opposed to Israel. His parents are Socialist/Marxist ideologues. He plans to tax the rich in order to provide free benefits to the underclass. He does not understand the roots and success of these United States. This is not hearsay. Public remarks, interviews and podcasts undeniably support these truths. All this begs the question, “Why did hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers vote for him?”. The answer is deceptively simple: It is a deadly combination of ignorance, the 4th estate, education and greed.

Ignorance

Ignorance isn’t bad or a character defect. All it means is that you don’t know something. If you’ve never been exposed to the Pythagorean Theorem you are ignorant about the Pythagorean Theorem. The same applies to your political knowledge and opinions. If you’ve never heard or examined the political views of the “other side”, then you are ignorant of what they offer. If you’ve never examined your own political side, then your beliefs are based on what somebody else tells you to believe and you are ignorant about your own beliefs. If you are ignorant about both sides, then your voting decisions will be based on your parents’ political party, what you heard on the most recent cable news, or what’s in it for me. Many NYC voters are simply ignorant. They didn’t know or care who is this Mamdani.

4th Estate

The term Fourth Estate or Fourth Power refers to the press and news media in the explicit capacity of advocacy, implicit ability to frame political issues, and in factual reporting. Though it is not formally recognized as a part of a political system, it wields significant indirect social influence. The derivation of the term “Fourth Estate” arises from the traditional European concept of the three estates of the realm: the clergy, the nobility and the commoners. The equivalent term “fourth power” is somewhat uncommon in English, but it is used in many European languages referring to the separation of powers in government into a legislature, an executive and a judiciary – and a fourth, the press.

In modern use the term Fourth Estate is applied to the press with the earliest use in this sense described by Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship: Burke said that there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”

In a democracy, or in any society where differing opinions can be publicly expressed, the Fourth Estate plays a vital and often determining role. In the modern day the news media – print, electronic and periodical – serves to report on political and socially related matters and thereby to inform the voting public. In the great majority of cases the news media, this Fourth Estate, is the only source of information that informs the voting public and therefore has a major influence on the public’s opinion and vote.

In a perfect journalistic world, the news media reporting would be clearly delineated between factual reporting and opinion. The world, including journalism, is not perfect. Many times what should be and appears to be factual reporting is flavored with bias and opinion – sometimes blatantly. On both sides of the political spectrum, Democrat and Republican, the reporter’s, or network’s bias creeps in. In visual news reporting we too often see the reporter’s “role of the eye”, a smirk, a condescending presentation, a gushing laudatory or a comment such as “If you can believe this!”. A particular and often overlooked source of bias is reflected in the reporter’s non-reporting of information favorable to the other side. This is an error of omission – it is a lie.

In current day reporting, bias is apparent. Around 95% of the mainstream media elite are Democrats. This is verifiable by voter registrations and by recorded political contributions. The bias is also verifiable by organizations which report on the percentage of reporting either favorable or unfavorable to the President and his administration. Across news organizations such as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, the NYT and WAPO the overwhelming reportage, in the high 90 percentile, is unfavorable to Trump. This in spite of the many successes of the Trump administration which go unreported.

But why would the media try to trash Trumpian ideas and control elections? The first answer is as mentioned above. They are overwhelmingly Democrats and carry the water for the Democratic party. The second reason is not as obvious. They’ve been educated in the secular and progressive schools on the East and West coasts. They live, believe and opine in a closed bubble where outside opinions and beliefs are dismissed as archaic and irrelevant. The time-honored beliefs about American superiority, Christian/Judeo values and honor have no purchase. We are fatally flawed, racist, and plagued by an inbred and illicit white superiority. The current USA structure and history is flawed and must be replaced by a progressive structure that guarantees equity for all. The third reason is closer to home. There is a swamp in Washington and in the elite media. Trolling around in this swamp may be a bit dirty but its monetary rewards exceed the occasional smell. Trump policies just don’t understand. A Republican is an outsider. Republicans will try to change the way things have always been. That just won’t float in the swamp. The media has no particular love for Mamdani, but he runs as a Democrat in the most influential city in the country. He was opposed by an Independent and a Republican. Enough said. The ignorant vote is formed by the media.

Education

If you are ignorant, if you aren’t swayed by the media, then what informs your opinions? It is education in all its forms. We all know that in the last 10,20,30 40 years the amount of public money spent on public grammar and high school education has increased dramatically. In lock step the tuition in state and private colleges and universities has kept pace and even outdistanced the 12k schools. What has been the payback? On an objective cost/benefit analysis, what are the results? They are dismal.

This country, the most advanced, the richest, the “most enlightened” of Western democracies, is falling behind not only other Western countries but even some third world countries. Our children are losing pace with a good portion of the rest of the world. How can this be? Our per student expenditure grows each year. Our teacher salaries now exceed, on average, private sector comparable salaries. We have a glut of school “Administrators” whose job it is, I assume, to promote quality education and control costs.  It is abundantly clear, beyond argument, without challenge, that money beyond subsistence levels and even in abundance does little if anything to improve education results.

Not only has education lost ground as regards basic learning, it has also been polluted by DEI at the high school and graduate levels. No longer is the wonderful and classic Judeo/Christian history of this country a center of focus. No longer are the truths of the Declaration of Independence and the value of our Constitution stressed. No longer are the miserable failures of Socialism and Communism highlighted. Our younger voters have no living memory of, and have not been taught the wonderful history of our country. Little wonder that they are prey to the sophomoric and Utopian promises of a Marxist Mamdani.

Greed

This word, greed, has an unmistakable meaning. It implies that you “Should not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” You shouldn’t seek money, goods and services that don’t belong to you. But what about those who think that they have a right to another’s goods, that equity is the prime government value, that the rich class is undeserving of their gains? These people have no problem accepting Mamdani’s promises of free this, that, and other things. Merit be damned. I deserve this free stuff.

Look no further for the answer to Mamdani’s election. It is a deadly combination of ignorance, the 4th estate, education and greed.

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