The Low Information Voter - America’s New Burden?
It could be said that the majority of Americans now can be
considered Low Information Voters. In other words, the majority of Americans
either cannot or will not gather and digest the proper information to make intelligent
decisions regarding their vote.
Is this a new phenomenon for America? It’s possible but not
likely. America, for the most part, has been blessed over the centuries with
relatively peaceful times. There have been few periods in American history when
it was critical for the American Voter to thoroughly know and understand the issues
they vote on.
But it seems at this time our country is at a crossroad and
all that has made us a great nation is now being tested by seemingly un-American
forces. It can be likened to an invasion of ideas, strange to most Americans
and yet many don’t even see it.
The problem we as Americans face is, do we want to go down
this road of change? Many who are reading and researching these new forces,
ideas, their causes and effects, are concerned and shocked that the majority of
Americans have no idea it’s even happening, enter the Low Information Voter –
L.I.V.
This L.I.V. seems to be on overload with a daily barrage of mass
media smacking them in the face every moment of every day. In a relatively free
society as ours the L.I.V. gets to pick and choose what they listen to or watch
during the day. There is no strict government mandates laid down for the masses
unless you’re young and in a public school, which is another matter. But for
the most part in America you still have the choice to turn a channel or a web
page when you want. Unfortunately, it seems that L.I.V.’s aren’t interested in
finding out anything but the latest score, new movie or song that’s out.
Since 2008 our new leaders have definitely steered our
society in a direction that makes a very large and near majority in our country
uncomfortable. Many look upon the L.I.V.’s as un-American but I think there’s
much more to the appearance of their complacency. You see, it’s “distraction” that
has this new voting class in America in a fog. They are the Low Information
Voter simply because they’re distracted and are floating over the burning coals
we all have to walk through every day. It’s so frustrating for most to see them
hovering up there be-bopping on their IPods, but it’s true, they have chosen
not to care and frankly don’t.
With the internet now in full force any topic if Googled can
result in a mind-melt-down of massive piles of information. Who can blame them
for not searching for answers when there is at least 10,000 websites on just
the word “it”- thank you President Clinton.
So it appears that the Low Information Voter has checked out
on reality and is blissfully floating somewhere between the ionosphere and
space never to wake until it’s too late! They are America’s new burden, a
burden we will have to shake up if we expect to save our country. - N.P.Contompasis