Are the general public morons or just self-absorbed (like most people)

[Mike Daniels]

There isn't a day that goes by where either someone on DU or FR doesn't put up a post where the general public is derided as moronic, sheep, lazy or some other disparaging term strictly because the general polls don't show one candidate or the other as having a significant edge over the respective sides champion.

I think someone said that all politics is personal and I think that is what really motivates John Q. Public vs. any real over-riding sense of moral cumpulsion or strong belief in a political philosophy.

I believe that the majority vote based on their impression of what does their vote gain for themselves and/or their family. What effect a vote will have on the general populace probably doesn't effect someone's voting decision that much. If you have a dog in a particular hunt, why would you vote for someone who isn't going to advance your agenda? Admittedly, there have been a few over-riding moments in history where people did vote based on their conscience (civil rights being one of them) but I think those are the exception vs. the rule)

Since the war doesn't probably effect a lot of people personally, (don't have/know someone in the forces and consider the likelihood of being killed in a terrorist attack as miniscule at best) I can see from that angle why the war isn't taking a big toll on Bush's ratings.

In the end, I could support an accusation that the majority of the public is perhaps selfish, but I don't think that they are moronic...they're just doing what general instict requires that you do which is "watch out for number one".

[whistle]

1. Yes and no...

[supernova]

2. Self-absorbed I think

is more the general rule. People don't normally get angry or even curious about public events and issues..... unless those things affect individual lives directly.

[rkc3]

3. Morons

80% of the people you meet are below average.

[forgethell]

13. I hope that

was a joke???

[leftofthedial]

4. both

in my experience.

I equate willfully ignorant with moronic.

Roughly 50% of Murkans claim to approve of the bushgang's performance. This is patently moronic.

Many people still actually believe that Clinton's single lie about a blow job was worse than the bushgang's litany of lies that attempt to cover up complicity or negligence in 9-11; lies that got us into a war that has killed tens of thousands and cost hundreds of billions; lies that have put trillions of dollars into the pockets of bushgang accomplices, er, campaign contributors; and on and on.

If this isn't moronic, I don't know what is.

Self-absorbed? Sure. But that does not explain away stupidity.

[salinen]

5. John Q

has been trained by the RW media that selfishness and greed are admirable traits.

[lovedems]

6. What supports your theory are some recent polls

and I cannot give exact numbers I am just using my memory but apparently 60% of the nation think our country is headed in the wrong direction yet * has a 50% approval rating. I take from that people don't like where we are heading but as long as they are being taken care of, that is all that matters. What is ironic (and I have republican family members who think they will benefit from the tax cuts for the wealthy and let me tell you, they are far from the top 2%) is the number of people who vote against their own best interests which leads me to believe that there is a certain amount of ignorance in the American voters.

Was that confusing or not?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. I think that their self-absorption

makes them disinclined to bother their perfectly blow-dried little heads about anything that the media don't lay out in front of them as approved information.

People had less formal education in the old days, but they tended to work, go to school, shop, and socialize in the same neighborhood or small town. This led to a feeling of community and common interests which made it easy for labor organizers and politicians to reach their intended audiences.

Now a plurality, perhaps a majority, of Americans live in suburbs full of houses where no one is at home in the daytime, where everyone shops at anonymous big box stores and eats at chain restaurants, where everything outside the home requires getting into the car and driving, and where their jobs might be fifty miles away. When such people get home, emotionally exhausted from the stress of the day, it's really tempting to turn on the tube and watch something mindless. Add to that the presence of the big fundamentalist churches, which may be the only source of community in a new suburb.

I don't think it's a coincidence that cities are more liberal than suburbs and that Republicans fight like hell against New Urbanist development or public transit or restrictions on tract houses.

[livetohike]

8. Depends on your own values

and point of view. For example, I am a first generation American and my parents and grandparents never missed voting in an election and neither have I. My family talked about the importance of voting and my Dad was involved in the local Dem. party for years. Growing up, we always watched the news on TV and discussed current events. We still do that when we are together.

I recognize that this is not the case in many families and many people are just not interested in politics/voting or what is happening in the world. I wish that wasn't the case.

[BlueEyedSon]

9. Unprepared, uniformed, unready for the responsibility of democracy

1. It all depends on your definition of "moronic". I think most Americans are woefully uninformed and detached about what the US government does, how it gets elected and how individuals can participate. The dynamics of the policies, legal environment and economics of US (and the world) are COMPLICATED. Probably more complicated than the average citizen's job and family dynamics.

2. The quote is "all politics is local". Paying taxes (or increasing the national debt) for the war, or having tax cuts eliminate services effects you personally, even if you don't realize it.


The media, the public schools, and the politicians are mostly to blame (i.e. they could fix the problem).

[JohnOneillsMemory]

10. Brainwashing. 150 cable channels of lies and propaganda. Shiny objects.n/t

[tom_paine]

11. Both. Many People with Many Different Perspectives

One Corporate TV Pravda and one Party-Loyal Bushevik Sub-Media to choose from.

Not enough choice. "Let the market take care of it," my ASS! :grr: :grr:

The "market" would gladly bring us back to 1780s France if it thought we'd sit down and take it.

[Vladimir]

12. I think most people are

undereducated and ignorant through no fault of their own. Its serves the US (and other Western countries) to keep vast swathes of the population from getting a decent education and easy access to accurate information. I myself wanted Bush to win in 2000. The last 4 years has been a very steep learning curve about the world around me, and as a result I am now a socialist... but not everyone gets 4 years in college to contamplate things. A little humility goes a long way sometimes - the only people I have a genuine disdain for are the well-educated middle and upper class republicans. If you've had access to a good education and had a chance to learn things for yourself and yet you still willfully remain an idiot, then you deserve no sympathy whatsoever.