Matt Yglesias highlights an incredible bit of polling data.
This is the reason I always shake my head at polls showing what voters want or politicians talk about giving the voters what they want. The fact is that most people have no clue what they are talking about when it comes to things like this because they are big and complicated and they are more focused on their day to day life. They have some politician from a political party that they sorta listen to and go along with but they don't really understand what they are going along with.
This is, of course, why it's so easy for politicians to manipulate voters. They can spout banal red meat for the base who lap it up while not paying much attention to what is really going on. The problem is amplified by journalists who don't feel it's their job to call a lie a lie.
If we want better government, we have to have a better understanding of our policies and what our government is doing. Ignorance is not bliss.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Average Person is Confused or Ignorant
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2 comments:
I am the first to admit I am not crazy about politics but that's after living with a republican for 5 years bashing his views down my throat. I am so ignorant that it's disturbing. I don't have local channels or cable. I have a TV for games and movies. I get so angry at how the news tries to persuade us either way.
It's good to admit that you don't know. Unfortunately, most people don't admit it. In fact, they are sure they do know what they are talking about when, in fact, they typically do not.
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