Are People Informed?

[Col. Tartleton]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?
Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?
Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Please Opine.

[Blaze86420]

The results of the Provincial elections that took place today in Alberta answer that question. ing Conservatives win a majority again.

[YuriVII]

Heh, which country USA or Russia?

Hell no, USA voters are not informed at all. Thing I dont like most about US voters is the strand of anti-intellectualism that runs through society.

Does US government know what its doing? I think for the most part it does but those things are mostly bad and so I am against it.

People of USA are responsible because in a democracy you get the government you deserve.


Russia is different but not by much,

I think Russian government does not really know what it is doing. Its just trying the play with the cards it is dealt

Voters in Russia are informed but completely apathetic and jaded.

The way Russia is going will be Russians fault because of our apathy and inferiority complex.

[alexanderswift]

The results of the Provincial elections that took place today in Alberta answer that question. ing Conservatives win a majority again.

Better than the Wildrose party. I never thought I'd be actually hoping for the conservatives to win until they showed up.


On topic: Yes and no. I think a depressingly large amount of people still aren't, despite the means to be well informed being available to a major percentage of people. It just seems like a lot of people don't care enough to bother.

The current Canadian government is completely ridiculous and probably shouldn't actually be in office right now. I'm not completely sure why or how they have a majority and it certainly does not give me confidence in the future of Canada.

People are not well enough informed in my opinion, a lot of people have some idea of what's going on locally and maybe vague ideas of what's happening beyond that but not much more than that. I feel the political landscape would change dramatically if more people paid more attention to current events and did more research regarding political choices.

[Armenum]

The more connected people are to information sources (e.g. internet), the more they are connected to a diverse amount of people, the more informed they will be. Basically meaning people living in the most urban areas will tend to be more informed than rural folks.

[eisenkopf]

The more connected people are to information sources (e.g. internet), the more they are connected to a diverse amount of people, the more informed they will be. Basically meaning people living in the most urban areas will tend to be more informed than rural folks.

From my experience, I have to disagree. There is a saturation effect that is setting in very early. People do not profit from more information than one newspaper or newsaggregator provides - we usually choose one that we like and then stick with it. As for the possibility of searching the Internet for more (background) knowledge, we have at least two powerful cognitive biases working against us:

Confirmation bias : "the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions."

Hostile media effect: "the tendency to see a media report as being biased due to one's own strong partisan views."

So when presented with a lot of information about one event or person, we tend to favor those sources that present us the information which fits into our belief system and view of the world.


The best way to overcome these biases is indeed personal interaction and experience. In this respect, people living in urban areas might be more informed than people from rural areas, because cities are more heterogeneous and there is more opportunity to interact with the unknown. That is, unless you commute in your SUV from your gated community to work and back, stopping only at the mall...

[Armenum]

From my experience, I have to disagree. There is a saturation effect that is setting in very early. People do not profit from more information than one newspaper or newsaggregator provides - we usually choose one that we like and then stick with it. As for the possibility of searching the Internet for more (background) knowledge, we have at least two powerful cognitive biases working against us:

Confirmation bias : "the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions."

Hostile media effect: "the tendency to see a media report as being biased due to one's own strong partisan views."

So when presented with a lot of information about one event or person, we tend to favor those sources that present us the information which fits into our belief system and view of the world.


The best way to overcome these biases is indeed personal interaction and experience. In this respect, people living in urban areas might be more informed than people from rural areas, because cities are more heterogeneous and there is more opportunity to interact with the unknown. That is, unless you commute in your SUV from your gated community to work and back, stopping only at the mall...

Well the average person will more than likely pick the news sources they prefer, but again in this day of the internet and information age, that person is bound to also reach other viewpoints. The thing about living in heavily urbanised areas is that you interact more often with a diverse amount of people, whose views will be more differing as a whole than the views of people in a small town. This interaction gives one slight edge.

The biases you talk about I think will be magnified in a rural setting, but of course, there are exceptions, and more and more rural areas are becoming very well connected to the outside world (e.g. via internet).

[muller227]

The more connected people are to information sources (e.g. internet), the more they are connected to a diverse amount of people, the more informed they will be. Basically meaning people living in the most urban areas will tend to be more informed than rural folks.

This sounds good but is wrong, I come from a rural area. grew up there and then moved for better work to a much larger population area. I was stunned by the sheer ignorance, and group think. Where I grew up it only mattered if it worked, we were too poor for failure. None of my family completed HS except my Dad. Yet they read and debated everything, as a kid I remember them arguing about the deficits of Reagan, or my Dads another excuse too get perfectly good marines killed. Going into the Mog in 91 they were all for it, those people need help. In the end it was about morality and motivation and that is matter of culure rich or poor.

White trash first draft right, thing is they undersood basics take care of the kids, My dads boss would give a guy a job if he saw a car full of kids, even if he didn't really need the guy. The man is a brutal business man with a soft side, he went from slaughtering beef ands setting up pins in a bowling alley, to owning over 400,000 acres of crop and range land, did time for milking the government and laughs it off at 80 saying I did more good than harm.

I now live in an area that could be at best considered half rural, and the people are even dumber. "Dumb as rocks and proud of it" is how my brother in law puts it. It is the acceptance of what people tell us as truth, that I find mind numbing, I was taught to doubt everything and make up my own mind. Half the people I know think I am a conservative, the other half think I am bleeding heart liberal. There are right and wrongs IMO on both sides of the arguments.

The internet makes the curious smarter, and the dumb dumber. The internet serves as way to feed your delusions or open new doors of thought.

[removeduser_4536284751384]

The more connected people are to information sources (e.g. internet), the more they are connected to a diverse amount of people, the more informed they will be. Basically meaning people living in the most urban areas will tend to be more informed than rural folks.

Your mistake here is assuming people in urban areas interact more with the people around them than the people in rural areas. I'm sure you're familiar with the steretypes of people in cities not knowing any of their neighbours, while people in rural areas know their entire small town. Of course, there is no evidence for these stereotypes either besides anecdotes, I don't really think there's much of a difference.

[Count of Montesano]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?
Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?
Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Please Opine.

In the U.S. I think there is a huge disconnect between federal and local (state/county/city) government. Many citizens at least have some idea what's going on in their neighborhood and care about what their city council or local school district is up to. At the federal level though things seem to break down along party lines and everybody is so busy pointing fingers that they ignore the great amount of corruption that's going on in BOTH parties. I think there's also a real apathy about what's happening at the national level, as neither Obama nor Romney are particularly strong leaders that embody confidence.

Also keep in mind that your individual ability to influence national politics is pretty limited. Key battleground states - those with either large populations or closely split demographics - determine presidential races. If you're in a smaller state or a state dominated by the opposing party, your vote doesn't really matter. Your access to your own congressperson or senator is nothing compared to the access a lobbyist can get.

[Thorn777]

I think in Germany people who wish can be informed well, and many really are, however the mass is very disinformed by the easy on the go infotainment running rampant, which is factually also used to cater anti-social political agenda's.

Its a battle information cant win.

[Claudius Gothicus]

To put it bluntly... no, people are not fact-based informed about reality.

They are systematically misinformed by political parties, Mass media and radical ideologists. While falling for their own political culture of mistrust and ''everybody lies'' preconception.

And it doesn't get any better in the higher stratas of the the Social Scale, let's not fall into the whole ''working class people is stupid'' argument because it extends to the Middle Classes, the Lower one and probbly a certain amount of High Class fellows as well.

If anything trying to vote effectively or taking up a political position within the spectrum is just one big irrational choice unless going to academic sources, which are in themselves problematic to read and interpret.

[Primo]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?
Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?
Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Please Opine.

1. No
2. Well, I guess that yes ...
3. That depends.

[Logios]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?
Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?
Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Please Opine.

How would I know? I am a pretty average person myself. I don't know what I don't know.
The general concensus here in Denmark is that our current government has backed down from every promise they made before our recent elections, they blame the former government for passing on a horrible economy.
We may not be overly patriotic in these parts, expecting instead that the public system takes care of everything, so I guess we got what we deserved.

[Teutonic Warlord]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?

NO.Can I honestly expect anyone to be when the media is too busy pushing their agenda/political party by omitting information instead of offering the true story and facts?

Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?

As an American, I can say yes. Unfortunately, it is seldom doing what the people want or need it to do because it is playing Hardball. Mainly, the politicians are too busy playing Hardball to gain and keep power. As long as that is the focus of the majority of them, America is stuck in the crappy rut it is in right now.

Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Yes and no. Sure, the majority voted for the politicians in power (and voted to keep them in there). That, in turn, is a problem because power corrupts, giving most politicians who stay in political office a good chance of becoming corrupt unless they have some strong code of conduct like George Washington lived by. However, with news agencies pushing agendas and not providing real information and politicians lying/swooning/spending federal money to make the people of their district like them, it also isn't since they can't always make informed decisions or know when they need to get rid of their current politicians.

[The Doubtful Guest]

Good God, No.
Yes.
Partly.


I really worry about my generation and the generations behind me when it comes to politics.

Seems like among the youth today (this is USA I'm talking about btw) there are two primary groups of political thinking.

You have the "politics r boring" people or the "he's gunna leagalize weeeeed broooooo" blind Ron Paul followers lol.

Maybe we just need time, but Lord, I'm nervous.

It's also what I call the "lol, don't read" generation. Ya know when you look at someones FB profile and this is what you see? (typos intended)

Religious Views - Everything

Political views- their boring

Favorite books - who reads books?


It's disturbing. My sister's friend (born 1999) spelled bridge, "brich". Just think about that for a moment lol.

But any ways, I'm tangent-ing. lol.


I think it's just a small group of people that really care or think about politics. Our voter turnout is pathetic and from that percentage I'd reckon it's only like a 1/4 of that who are truly making an informed decision. People don't dig enough these days and draw their own conclusions. They've got their fav. candidate, news channel, website, whatever and that's that.

I think _____ is cool because _____ that's why ___ has my vote.



Disclaimer--------

Sorry if the spacing bugs you, I hate walls of text.

And finally, note this is all written by a 19-year-old American who has only voted in the NYS governor election and a few local elections.

[Necromancer]

I feel that, despite massive amounts of readily available information through various sources, people are only informed on politicians and/or issues that they actually care about. Everyone else is an enemy not worthy of learning about, and everything else is forgotten about. Hence, why so many people are willing to follow their chosen candidate off a cliff without a second thought. Still, I prefer listening to them than people who say voting's a waste of time and then complain when things go south. That's like not bringing a meal to a potluck and then complaining that there's nothing there that you like.

Our (U.S.) government knows exactly what it's doing. Whether or not it's within the interests of the common man is another debate entirely.

While candidates running for political office are chosen by the public, I don't think that a people will always deserve the government it gets. Politicians are sly creatures; they tend to say one thing, then do another.

[Psychonaut]

As far as the US goes, no. Much of the people I know get all of their political knowledge from only one source, and discredit everything the other side has to say. Ex. my grandma (bad example, though I do love her so) watches Fox news religiously and hates Obama because he's a "communist." This is a trend amongst all the old people I know. Then there are the hordes of CNN :wub: politically correct liberals infesting my school that think everyone should vote for Obama because, if you don't, you're a racist!!!1!111!! And then there are the stoners that support Ron Paul only because of his views on marijuana. One would think that the people living in the "cradle of democracy" would care enough about politics to get informed and vote more often, but unfortunately that's not always the case. Ah, it, I'm leaving the US when I graduate from college anyway. Not for political reasons, though.

Two lazy to answer the other two questions.

Edit: Holy shnikes I get to vote in the Presidential election this November... schweet!

[Phier]

One must not confuse someone being informed with the intelligence to comprehend what is before them.

[xcorps]

Pretty straight forward questions.

Is the average person in your country informed enough?
Does the government of your country have any idea what it's doing?
Are the people to blame for their government's success or failure?

Please Opine.

No. The education system is designed to fail.
How many people do you personally know (you are in the US right?) are aware of the third position in the executive in line of succession to the Presidency and can name the person who currently holds that position?
How many people do you personally know who will answer the question "Who discovered America" with "Columbus"?
How many people do you personally know can name who the Governer of their state or the Mayor of their city is?

How do you explain the terrible ACT and SAT results over the last 20 years?



Yes. It's constantly acquiring more power. That's the nature of government, to govern. Anything it does not govern it seeks to govern.

Yes. A government cannot be of, by and for the people AND have all fault for its failures.