Just One Question

[enders_shadow]

Greetings America and it's friendly if insignificant neighbors

Comments

[enders_shadow]

"I believe in order for it to work voters must be educated politically."

Problem: voters are not educated/people don't vote

[enders_shadow]

Unpack "for it to work" in my belief. It's connected to the "must" Sure we have democracy--but how well is it working?

[little_e_]

The problem as I see it isn't so much education as instincts.

Most people (especially as they get older,) think with their guts, not their brains. You can present them with factual information, but if it contradicts something they want to believe is true, it won't penetrate. You can present them with emotional appeals, and even if it makes no sense, it'll penetrate.

It's like when I talk to my mum about food, and she starts talking about things she's seen in margarine ads. I don't care where you stand on the butter issue, ads ain't the place to get your info. But ads aren't trying to be logical, they're trying to trigger your reptile brain, and that's why they work.

[enders_shadow]

So how do we fix it?

[little_e_]

You can't. The best you can do is try to sculpt your arguments to appeal to them. Don't try to remake them to get them to listen to your arguments; just remake your arguments to appeal to them.

Or just ask questions until they contradict themselves.

[enders_shadow]

"remake your arguments to appeal to them."

I tried doing that and pastorlenny said I was being anti-semitic.

Since when do contradictions stop them? Beck bitches about socialism but "educated himself" in a public library!

[meus_ovatio]

Simple: compulsory lifetime education with a curriculum designed by appointed men of just and righteous character.

[enders_shadow]

you would vote for such a measure?

[a_new_machine]

I think it was a joke on Plato.

[thies]

single party system

[mahnmut]

Less spin in the media and in school, that's what could improve things a bit.

I'm not saying send all pundits to GULag, altho some of them might really enjoy it there.

[a_new_machine]

Define "spin." The issue with (good) spin is that it's arguably as true as the other side's "fact." Basically it's the injection of an opinion - any opinion, well-supported or not - into a factual discussion. But unless we limit our newscasters and newspapers to simple, active voice sentences, odds are we won't get an unbiased report out of a human.

[mahnmut]

Good point. And mind you, even not adding any apparent opinion, just selecting the facts to present may sway public opinions in one direction or another.

[enders_shadow]

" just selecting the facts to present may sway public opinions in one direction or another."

This is exactly what FOX does (aside from conflating opinion with news)

They spend God knows how much time covering the TEA party protesters in DC, but only spend a few minutes (4-5, iirc) covering the gay rights protesters in DC. Despite the size of the protest being roughly equal.