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Sick of Politics Yet? I Sincerely Hope Not!
- Nov 20, 2008 at 3:05 AM
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- Comments (13) Total Views (308) Everyone can see this journal post.
It's come to my attention that voters are stupid. Now wait--hear me out. In a recent Zogby poll, it was painstakingly demonstrated that while Democratic voters could clearly articulate every bit of nastiness regarding Sarah Palin, they had a harder time remembering all the misinformation thrown the way of our President Elect.
For the record, I am a registered Non Partisan voter, and have in fact voted for a third party candidate in all four of the last Presidential elections. What this means to me is that I'm somewhat more objective than partisan voters when it comes to the mudslinging. I largely avoided political journals these last... what? Six months? Because I was rarely if ever heard when I stated objectively that everyone involved in this process was just as guilty as everyone else when it came to talking trash.
But I digress. Back to stupid voters. In the interest of full disclosure, I will state that were it not for Bill O'Reilly and, more indirectly, Fox News, I'd never have been made aware of this poll. Or this website. Before I get into this though, watch this video:
Don't want to watch?The Cliff's Notes version of all of this (as articulated by Zogby):
512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE 4.4 points
97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates
Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions
57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
71.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).
And yet.....
Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes
Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.
Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)
I spent my evening ruminating on all of this (and watching Bones). And in the interests of non-partisanship, I dutifully attempted to track down a similar poll or other work devoted to how stupid John McCain's votership is.
Except, I couldn't find it. I challenge all of you to prove me wrong; if this information were out there, I would happily add the results to my findings here. I'll be blunt: I may have been disappointed by the outcome of this election, but I don't believe either party has a clear victory when it comes to political intellect.
Because I believe, regardless of whom one voted for, that this is symptomatic of a much greater problem: the apathy of the American public. How can you not know who controls Congress??? These people make decisions that affect our lives, daily. Worse still, it's becoming clearer by the day that the people AREN'T in charge of those decisions that will shape how we live those lives.
I'm not talking about things like The Patriot Act, or Gay Rights, or even how the money from the Bailout is spent. But those things alone should have you sitting up and paying attention. We don't need to talk about The Fairness Doctrine, or the withdrawal plan from Iraq. How about we just talk about the "stupid" stuff that's off the table. AS in, there's so much other stuff in front of Congress, these items have been sent to committee for further discussion.
How about requiring pharmacists to dispense birth control, specifically the Morning After Pill. That might mean something to you. Then again, maybe not.
How about legislation requiring Oil Companies to freeze prices in case of oil shortages or natural disasters. That surely will have an impact on your life. No?
How about increasing Veteran benefits, including access to better education, fair housing and access to federal grant money should a Vet wish to start his or her own business. Surely, we have wives of servicemen here, and a few Veterans themselves. Perhaps I'm mistaken.
How about the right of private mining companies to mine on federal property, including National Parks. Protecting the beauty of your own backyard might mean something to you. No?
How 'bout this one: a law forbidding minors to cross state lines if they want to get an abortion without parental consent. Are there really no parents of teenage girls out there? Really? How interesting.
Or even this one: decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level. No one here at the Cafe might care about that one. Of course not.
That's six examples, from the Library of Congress compendium on Congressional Session 110. And guess what--those six examples only come from the first page. Imagine that. That just happens to include those bills with popular titles from numbered through Ac. Just imagine how many more pages there are, filled with things that will affect the rest of your life, and your children's lives.
I don't care how you feel about those things. I DON'T CARE if you call yourself conservative, liberal, middle of the road. What I care about is, quite simple: I want you to care.
I'm told so frequently that I'm asking for the impossible. That to ask people to pay attention to those laws being made around them and the people who make those laws just isn't feasible. To ask people to hold their elected officials to a higher standard, to make them act on our behalf... just isn't possible.
Help me prove them wrong.
Comments:
Well done!
Briar- I think I have tears in my eyes... I am so in love with you right now! We must share a chunk of gray matter or something... *sniff*
Yay! I'm not stupid!
It's become increasingly clear to me how little I've cared about politics until just this year. I hear what you're saying, sweetstuff, and I will strive to make informed decisions, make my voice heard and my vote count. I appreciated your point(s). I'd like to think this is the dawning of a new era, but without taking an interest and ensuring that that happens, all the hope will be in vain. I'll be paying attention this time around.
It never ceases to amaze me what I DON'T know. I think I'm informed, at least nominally, only to find that there are really, so many things that I don't know. I have been striving recently to become that informed person, to know what I'm talking about, before venturing out there and casting a vote that will have a part in influencing the shape of our country's future. I love that you wrote this, Briar. You do make good points.
I don't think I want to comment on the video, though.
So many times during this election, I could have said to various commenters, "You're an idiot, but at least you're an idiot with passion."
Ah, Briar! At the risk of sounding like one of those who recognizes apathy yet does nothing to promote otherwise, and additionally sounding like one who feels that "the children are our future" exclusively, my opinion on the results of the Zogby poll may reflect just those views.
Apathy is a learned behaviour, in my opinion. We are born curious. Only after following the example of those around us are we inclined to be apathetic and mentally lazy. Knowledge does not occur through diffusion (osmosis, for those who don't know the difference!). It takes real effort on an individual's part to become and then stay informed. My children are not allowed to be passive. They are urged to ask questions and seek knowledge. That is not the norm. In so many aspects of modern life, we and our children are expected to just accept the things which are presented to us. This happens in religion, politics, education, recreation, etc. It really is no wonder to me that after a lifetime of being persuaded to accept ideas at face value that political apathy is rendered as commonplace.
If one does not want to be knowledgeable about current politics, I think there is little that can be done to change their minds. After all, apathy is pervasive - contagious, even. Don't get me wrong, I am not defending political apathy. I am just saying that it has become easy to pretend as if one is aware unless, as demonstrated by those interviews in the video, one is directly asked to answer specific questions. Even then, it also easy to pretend as if that lack of knowledge - that apathy - is defensible. It also does not come as a surprise to me that people will passionately defend their right to be ignorant. If people can appear to be informed, and so be accepted for it, then why take the hardest step and actually BE informed? Being accepted is much more persuasive and easy than being informed
I personally feel as if my only course of action against political apathy; dare I say intellectual apathy, is to raise my children to always question, and to always seek knowledge, to never just accept information at face value. It is the nature of humanity to try and persuade others that one person's adopted truth is THE TRUTH for all. My main defense against such thinking is to raise my boys to be independent thinkers, questioners and seekers of knowledge. I try to set a good example for them by doing doing just those things myself.
Yes, I do think it is possible for those who are currently apathetic to throw off that ignorance and become more informed. However, I think that every person's motivations to do so are different. Some just don't want to be informed, be knowledgeable, have a mental leg to stand on in making change. They are perfectly happy to let others make the decisions that will guide their lives. There are still others who may not become more active in politics until it directly effects their comfortable, daily lives. As we well know, there are also those who wouldn't understand the word "bipartisan" if it was acted out in cartoon animation for them. So, I choose to make a difference where I can - my children, my family, my loved ones and friends. I do not want to teach them WHAT to think, only HOW to think.
It doesn't surprise me that people are so stupid and uninformed, but it does scare me. To think these people who know nothing about what they are voting for actually voted is almost criminal. About the video. Well that just proves my point. I can answer all those question correctly, but then I am not a mindless Democrat just going with the flow. Good for you. It is a great post.
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This Pennsylvania mom of a 12-year-old girl wishes her daughter's father was still alive to see his little girl all grown up now.
Nice job!
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