Appears I will be posting today on the candidates for the 2016 races……there is so much to cover and so little time……
Remember Honest Abe? That was when the people wanted a candidate that was honest and trustworthy…..those days are long GONE!
Fast forward to today…….
Experience is a good thing….but does that make for a good president?
The American keep voting for the wrong people….but why is that?
Basically they are voting for the person with the most celeb cred……not the person that has a good moral character (if that is possible)…….
But why is that?
What Americans don’t know and don’t understand is an obstacle to progress…….
If you think the widening chasm between the rich and the rest spells trouble for American democracy, have a look at the growing gulf between the information-rich and-poor.
Earlier this year, a Harvard economist’s jaw-dropping study of American’s beliefs about the distribution of American wealth became a viral video. Now a new Pew study of the distribution of American news consumption is just as flabbergasting.
Source: You will be shocked at how ignorant Americans are – Salon.com
There you have your answer…..low information voters…..when a voting population is uninformed then the result is that we elect those that are least capable of handling the job of president……
Chuq, remember a while ago you asked about Brazil? Well, today the former president, Lula, was taken in for questioning, and Dilma (current president, same party, who’s also being impeached for another matter) has been implicated in this massive fraud case going on. It’s a lovely situation.
Thanx for the update…I saw something about it yesterday and I have a couple of articles bookmarked for later…..I appreciate the input….chuq
Tom Jefferson, among others, pointed out the only way for a democratic republic to work is for the citizens of the republic to educate themselves, and, to WATCH their leaders…. The American people have abrogated this responsibility, and will now pay Plato’s price…
“A people who expect to be ignorant and free expect what never will, and never can, be.” — Thomas Jefferson
gigoid, the dubious
AMEN! chuq the Holy….
Hey,gigoid….
Is the price Trump?
Is that Plato’s price?
Rock On!
😉
As a matter of fact, that is exactly the price to which Plato referred, to wit: to be governed by vulgar, mediocre, inferior persons.
Got it in one….
gigoid
The income inequality section of that Salon article was a tad hard to follow….but none of the other findings were surprising at all.
1) A third of the population essentially does not watch any news. Another third does the absolute bare minimum. This perfectly matches a country where half the population doesn’t know how to cast a ballot.
2) The older you are, the more informed you are. The younger are, the more clueless you are. This is less surprising than leaving milk outside in the hot summer sun for a week and finding that it’s gone bad. Although, I figure most young folks would be so surprised by the spoiled milk, they’d have to contact their school psychologist to help work through their trauma.
3) TV viewers get FAR more information. Whereas folks on the World-pipe spend no more than 90 seconds a day looking at news…despite having the ability to access news 24/7. I mean, there’s lots of cat videos and celeb nip-slips to click on…And that’s just on the actual “news” websites! (Huffpost, etc)
And it’s yet another excuse for me to post this link. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadians-now-have-shorter-attention-span-than-goldfish-thanks-to-portable-devices-microsoft-study
4) While I was a tad surprised at the amount, I was not remotely surprised to see that MSNBC & FOX viewers regularly watch the other side’s network. This is because most cable news viewers don’t tune in expecting to be informed. They expect to be entertained. And every good story needs heroes…and villains. That’s why you watch a bit of the other side’s network, to see the villains in action.
I agree….the media is about entertainment not news…..that is why OJ is big news or the never ending awards shows…..
Yeah, just to belabour the point even more, I took a quick trip to Huffington Post (about the closest on-line-only thing you’ll find to a serious, traditional, newspaper). They’ve changed the format since the last time I was there. They removed the “most visited stories” section, probably as a result of criticism. Those stories were always 98% meaningless celeb bullshit and 2% Political Controversy of the day. But the tripe present today actually included:
“Watch Britney Spears dance in a bikini until the world ends”
“Mean Dog Melts at First Person To Show It Love”
“Rebel Wilson’s Birthday Party”
“Navy Cadets Funk Up Passing Out Ceremony With Surprise Flash Mob”
“Henry Winkler’s Love Advice would Make Fonzi Swoon”
This is why the Interwebs ain’t worth shit! Even on news websites, the most clicked stories are usually meaningless tripe. This is why those folks who get their news from the Interwebs average only 90 seconds a day. Jesus, it takes me longer to put on my fucking socks every morning!
In effect, they’re now the TV producers who decide what stories the viewers (aka themselves) get to see. And what do they choose? Even The minority looking to be informed start with the political boxing match story of the day. From then on, they choose stories about Real Housewives pulling each other’s hair. Then they pat themselves on the back for “being good citizens” because they “read the news” today.
People babble all the time about how “powerful” and “important” The Twit Zone, Loserbook, etc is when the truth is the exact opposite. Anything meaningful is the exception that proves the rule and very few are paying any attention. #SelfCongratualatoryPosersHolleringInAWell
Yes, there’s great stuff on the Net…buried at the bottom of a well that’s surrounded by flashing neon lights and strippers. But as lame as the Mainstream Media has become, it’s STILL a far better information option for society as a whole. The Nightly TV News is still the parent saying “eat your vegetables” of the media world. Only now, they deep fry most of it, or smother it in cheese to try to convince people to watch.
Thanks for the link to that story. It was one of those useful “exceptions”. 🙂
I search those sites looking for something that could have lasting consequences….but most of it is garbage…glad I could help a bit….