+++ Political ignorance is widespread +++
by Jack Ward (quixote@covad.net)
Ilya Somin a law professor at George Mason University observed that American voters tend to be “abysmally ignorant of even very basic political information.” Somin wrote, “Particularly significant is the fact that, on many issues, the majority is not only ignorant of the truth, but actively misinformed.” “Overall, close to one-third of Americans can be categorized as 'know-nothings' almost completely ignorant of relevant political information." Professor Somin appears shocked at the sheer depth of individual voters' ignorance. The professor may be shocked but I’m not. I’m not addressing differences of political opinion – I’m address pure political ignorance.
Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Unfortunately many of those that I’m addressing won’t even know who Thomas Jefferson was.
For several years the late night comedians have conducted some very funny ‘man on the street’ interviews. They ask average citizens very basic questions that any educated person should know. The answers - while funny - display a level of ignorance that is beyond comprehension. Those questioned are not derelicts or ‘street people’. They appear to be well dressed average American citizens.
When the elections draw near the ‘man on the street’ questions seem to focus on political issues.
Often the people are asked to identify pictures of the president, vice president, or other political leaders – to no avail. But when asked to identify a photo of Shaq, Kobe, Britney, or ‘The Boss’ they score 100%. When asked to answer questions of national or world significance – they fail miserably. But when asked to name the latest pop tune or movie they seldom fail. When asked where they get their information – they often identify MTV or ‘The Daily Show’ as their primary news source. A Pew Foundation survey tells us that 20 percent of young voters get their news from ‘The Daily Show’.
Sadly this tells us that many of these young adults are not learning anything worthwhile in school and they are using music and comedy stations as their education mediums. Yes folks, the same people that we laugh at on the late night comedy shows are also voters. That is scary. These people have absolutely no idea who their political representatives are, what they stand for, and how these politicians affect their lives; but they are voters that can sway elections.
This lack of basic knowledge makes these potential voters easy prey to the lies and distortions that are spewed during political campaigns. Whether you agree with my political opinions or not, just the fact that you are reading opinion pages indicates that at least you want to stay informed. But every one of the uneducated voters has the ability to cancel out your vote. They can vote to raise your taxes, impose stifling regulations, or eliminate needed regulations based on what they ‘learn’ from MTV or The Daily Show.
To insure that the US continues to be a world leader we need to have informed citizens. Obviously this isn’t a small task. Most of those interviewed in these ‘man on the street’ interviews indicate that they have a high school education and some are even college graduates. This is another indictment of our government controlled school system. All voters should have the best interest of the country at heart but there are other groups of people that may not be so inclined.
Recent polls reported that 67% of Americans couldn't name their congressman, 94% could not name the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 70% could not name either of their state's senators, 74% did not know the length of a senator’s term, 58% knew little about the Patriot Act, 94% couldn’t name of the Speaker of the House, and 58% could not name a single federal Cabinet department.
Don’t expect that academia is much better. A poll of Ivy League students revealed that 11% didn’t know the author of the Declaration of Independence and 50% didn't know the names of their US senators either.
The tens of millions of voters exercise their voting right despite knowing next to nothing about our government, the candidates, and the issues. Voting is a very cherished right but too many American voters are unwilling to put any effort into learning about the candidates and issues before they vote. As a result they are politically ignorant.
Every election cycle we hear the cry to increase the voter turnout. Ask yourself why? Why do we need more dummies voting? We already have the tens of millions of voters who vote despite knowing next to nothing. We don’t need more voters - we need more educated voters. The dumbing down of our education has resulted in the dumbing-down of our political process.
Political operatives don't mind voter ignorance as long as it brings them more votes. I suggest a similarity between the electorate and a jury. The lawyers don’t want knowledgeable jurors they prefer jurors that can be swayed by what is presented. Jurors perceived as too analytical are generally dismissed early. Similarly, politicians want voters that can be swayed by emotional 30 sound bytes.
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Pull Quote:
“…we need more educated voters.”
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I promised Raye I'd post Jack's "newspaper column", so here 'tis, to take or leave as you see fit. Comments should be directed to Jack himself at the e-mail address above --- please.
Bob H.
