First, consider younger voters. So much talk focuses on the increased interest in this presidential campaign by younger people, especially evident in the Ron Paul and Obama campaigns. But consider these facts: Among those aged 18 to 29, just 20 percent read newspapers and just 11 percent regularly surf the Internet for news. Most of people's knowledge about the candidates’ positions on the issues comes from what they learn from unreliable and all too often misleading 30-second commercials. Despite far more widespread and extensive schooling, people today possess no more political knowledge than their parents and grandparents. And don’t think that those addicted to The Daily Show and its irreverent view of politics are a lot smarter than those favoring The conservative O’Reilly Factor. In both groups, only about 54 percent of the shows’ politicized viewers scored in the high knowledge category.
Propaganda and misinformation really work. Just prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq some 60 percent of Americans believed that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attack. But here is the kicker: A year later there was a wealth of information, including the 9/11 Commission report, saying that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack. Yet an amazing 50 percent of Americans still believed that Iraq was to blame, and may still think so. As Rick Shenkman, author of Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter, concluded: “By every measure social scientists have devised, voters are spectacularly uninformed.” Guess who takes advantage of the stupidity of voters, especially younger ones.
If people can believe Obama when he says that the election is not about him but about them, then they also can believe McCain when he says he is a proven change agent and reformer.
The only real difference between Obama and McCain is exactly how they will screw the public and benefit the rich and powerful if elected, not whether they will. If the electorate were really intelligent, they would understand and focus on the similarity between the two, rather than their professed differences. It is what they share – obedience and loyalty to the two-party plutocracy – that matters the most. As long as voters do not understand this, the oppression and destruction of the middle class will continue, despite people thinking they are free and live in a democracy.
Article comments
1 - dee
Amen - we need new parties or we need to tear down the current corrupt system and start anew... we have come full circle, before the revolution we had taxation without representation, and that is exactly what we have now
2 - troll
'stupid' has little to do with it...your claim about the power of propaganda is more to the point imo
3 - Joel S. Hirschhorn
Actually, the way I like to describe our current awful situation is that we have taxation with MISrepresentation.
4 - Daniel Miller
The article is a good one but sad, but in most respects I think it is accurate and that its message is one which should be heard, widely. In at least one respect, however, I think (hope might be a better word) that it is unduly pessimistic.
Until last week, the words "Governor Palin" would, if spoken and they rarely were, have produced a yawn and a "who?" That is no longer the case, and her selection as Senator McCain's running mate has dramatically energized the Republican Party as well as lots of independents. It has also cast the general election in a new light, and the party of "hope and change" seems to be losing hope and forgetting about change. It also seems to be terrified, as the recent polls give it reason to be. I doubt that Governor Palin has brought much comfort to the "ruling elite," or to their minions. I suspect that if she is elected Vice President, and eventually becomes the President, they will have no cause for exuberance.
It is, of course, possible that too much fairy dust has been sprinkled on me, and that I am in that regard in good company. Nevertheless, for the first time in many, many years, I do think that I see some hope for at least modest change for the better. It may well be a small beginning, but then again it may ignite some worthwhile fires.
Dan(Miller)
5 - Cannonshop
Me too, Dan. The venom and the anger are good markers here-if someone is effective, they make enemies.
6 - Clavos
The venom and the anger are good markers here-if someone is effective, they make enemies.
Quoted for Truth.
7 - Dr Dreadful
That would make Hillary Clinton pretty devastatingly effective, then.
Word has it she's about to be unleashed on the campaign trail. The GOP should be afraid... very afraid.
8 - Cannonshop
Doc, the term you're looking for here, is "Entertaining." If Hill hadn't capitulated at the DNC, that would have been Entertaining as well. That the DNC needs to bring forth the Heavy Guns to take on a ONE TERM governor from a small state most of the Democratic Party can't find on an unlabeled map (and the Party itself considers beneath concern or contempt) only brings up how threatening little Sarah is to them- after all, one can be measured not only by the passion of one's foe, but also by their stature, and Hillary is someone with LOTS of standing among Democrats.
9 - Jordan Richardson
Is it little Sarah that is threatening or is it the Idea of little Sarah that holds the most danger? Arguably the real little Sarah ain't all that significant...
10 - Cannonshop
I dunno, Jordan, she's managed in two years more than most governors manage in ten. I suspect the actual Sarah Palin is almost as good as the Ideal of Sarah Palin-'specially since she hasn't gone through much trouble hiding the non-perfect elements in her family life, but I might agree with this-
The Democrats are reacting more to her "Legend" than her reality, and that's good too. It means they're worried enough to make nice with Hillary and bring her in to deal with the scary girl from that igloo-state who's ruining Everything on their march to the coronation.
11 - Daniel Miller
Cannonship and Clav,
The venom and the anger are good markers here-if someone is effective, they make enemies. Bertrand Russell, one of my all time heroes, commented that if someone tells a true believer that two plus two equals seven, he will be disregarded, pitied and ignored. If he disputes the Trinity, he will be disparaged and despised. The difference, of course, is that there is no doubt about the results of adding single digit numbers, but faith in the Trinity is quite something else.
Dan(Miller)
12 - Joanne Huspek
"And so, millions of Americans suffering from habitual stupidity will cast their votes, confident that they have discovered the truth."
Extraordinarily depressing, but it's exactly how I feel.
I wish there were a larger outcry for another party or parties, but I guess things aren't bad enough yet.
13 - troll
there have been numerous complaints about the 'stupidity' 'laziness' ('shiftlessness') 'apathy' etc of the 'brainwashed' voters
what is to be done - ?
Silas (Dewey) attributes the problem to low quality education and calls for improvements - sit 'em all down and talk civics and teach critical thinking...but this smacks of an evolutionary glacial gradualism and impracticality...(well perhaps there is a use for those secret concentration camps after all)
I hate to fall back on a tiresome materialism but...I suggest that we reproduce the workforce required by modern capitalism - anything less than a 'revolution' in the the way we relate to each other in the process of production is pissing in the wind
14 - cuervodeluna
Both these guys are owned and promoted by Big Oil and Big Guns.
I said on another thread that they were Tweedledee and Tweedledum and was immediately called a liar by some little person who claims moral superiority over everyone and doesn't know the difference between the NRA and Big Guns (the Arms Manufacturers).
I think there is ample evidence from some of the posts I have read on this forum to indicate an uninformed electorate is in place.
And it really doesn't matter WHY folks are uninformed--whether because of media bullying a la Fox News, disinformation from the White House or the general attitude of "valemadrismo" as we call it in Mexico (me vale madre means I don't give a hoot).
The result is and will continue to be The Same.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
15 - bliffle
cuervo says:
"I think there is ample evidence from some of the posts I have read on this forum to indicate an uninformed electorate is in place."
Righto! The worst thing is that they BELIEVE that they are smart, and well-informed.
They discount the fact that they mostly slept through their highschool courses and only have studied the most career-immediate matters since then.
They are still asleep back in their teens, asleep in some highschool classroom someplace,
They ignored knowledge, contemptuously claiming they could figure out anything just with "common sense", which they fervently believe that they possess!
16 - Daniel Miller
Bliffle,
Ah, yes. The ubiquitous "they." Only "they" disagree. Wouldn't it be great if "they" could be eliminated, and the righteous "we" didn't have to be pestered by "them!" Then, we could all agree. Although discussions might become rather boring, it would doubtless be worthwhile. Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Perhaps I slept through too many classes.
Oh well, such is life.
Dan(Miller)