Quote:
Originally Posted by Aramike
You know what I meant ...
...again, where was the disdain when liberals took office?
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I've....always thought American voters were distracted by the "ooh shiny!"? It's politics in general. You're taking it as if I'm leveling my comments at right leaning voters only. Get over that. I'm saying it applies to everyone. We as a country put more thought and emphasis into voting for the next American Idol singer than we do our elected officials.
In 2006, only 37% of voting age people voted for president. A little over 1 in 3 people thought it important that they cast their vote for the highest elected office in the land. In 2008 it was 56.8% - the highest since 1968. What does that say about us when on a good day, a little over half of us can be bothered to vote?
The 24 hour news cycle has addled our brains. 10 second sound bites and 30 second summaries of complex geopolitical and domestic issues are what's fed to us because complex and nuanced discussions are "omg soooo lame!" People can't or won't think for themselves, so issues are boiled down into black and white, us vs. them, good guys and bad guys because that's simple and that's the message they can get across in 2 minutes. And then they have to fill up the rest of the time, since they're on the air 24 hours a day. They spend time discussing what Obama's choice of beer says about him as a person. They devote entire interview segments to Bristol Palin and Levi's relationship status. You know, the
hard hitting issues.
I said it before and I'll say it again. Voters in this country are apathetic and ill-informed on the issues that matter. You know it and I know it.