aye.

so, i'd just sailed home from a hard day's work and i was flippin' 'round the news channels whilst enjoyin' me dinner.

on the tv show called "hardball", the interviewee was Katie Ahbrams, a lass who'd spoke out strongly against the current healthcare reform and i was thinkin' that it was painful to behold.

whilst watchin' this, i was recallin' how often folks on the good ship USPOL cite polls to buttress thar points 'o view while at the same time, often referrin' americans as "sheeple" and uninformed/ignorant.

with that in mind, i was curious how y'all view yer fellow americans.

*waits patiently*

- MeadHallPirate

Largely uninformed (like 95% of the citizens are pretty uninformed on most topics). A large number of people with jobs, families, etc, simply don't have the time to educate themselves on the issues of the day.

Somewhat stupid (1/3rd of the citizens are really stupid - that said, the smart ones are really smart).

I've been to Europe, Africa, Central America, etc. Even people I met in the street in Nairobi were more informed about US politics than most americans.

I was trying to talk about some issue that came up with Nancy Pelosi awhile back and quite a few of my coworkers were like, "Who is Nancy Pelosi?" Now these are people of the MI branch of the military, many of whom have very technical jobs. People just are uninformed. It might be an effect of how media dominates the thoughts and minds of the populous. American Idol is more important that American Politics to most people.

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A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

*blinks*

arg!

you two be too bloody fast fer me, ye responded 'fore i could even finish me poll options, aye!

- MeadHallPirate

I regret having to say this, but especially after the spectacles shown recently, I have to pick choice 2. We're just not that informed, primarily because our media is geared towards entertainment, not information. That, and we have just a bunch of other stuff to do.

I mean, there are people who think Sarah Palin and (Samuel) "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher should be president! That's a big eye-opener!

I use the "we" generally speaking. It can be both liberal and conservative.

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I agree, especially about American Idol.

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*climbs to the crow's nest*


ahhh, here it be.

no matter what political stripe one is, i'd think this short clip would be fascinatin' to behold.

YouTube - Hardball-Specter Town Hall guest Katy Abram not political until "Obama Socialism" appeared

aye.

- MeadHallPirate

Well if we are to believe Jay Walking......

I'm not sure what 'well informed' is these days. Thinking back to my days growing up in the '50s I remember my mother had her daily routine. After dinner (lunch) she started supper, then when supper was done, she took a bath and put on nice clothes. While we waited for my dad to get home she sat in the swing on our porch and read the paper. Then we ate, cleaned up the dishes, and it was time for the news. If you wanted to piss off my folks you started some shit while the news was on.

That was all we had available in those days. And pretty much everyone I knew was up on all of it. I don't know about today, though. Times have changed.

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I meant to comment on that earlier and forgot. I watched that interview live. It was painful. I didn't click on your link so I don't know if it's a shortened version or if it's the whole thing, but the girl has no clue what she's talking about, which is sad because she seemed somewhat nice - but it's best to be informed about a subject before pontificating about it. Now, I realize everyone has opinions and that not everyone knows everything about every subject, but she put herself in the cross-hairs, where she is carrying on about going back to the America that existed during the time of the Founders. Well, what America is that? The one where she's not allowed to vote, much less be able to express a (stupid) political belief? I mean, for the love of all that is holy, this woman doesn't realize that she doesn't have a clue, yet the media sees fit to give her a mic!

We reward stupidity! Unbelievable.

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*sticks his head back in the porthole*

mateys,

i just wanted to add that i didn't link this particular video to make this a partisan thread (though i 'spose i left that as an option in the poll), it was just this particular clip that got me thinkin' about americans in general.

*agrees with himself*

if i knew how to post me a follow up question to me poll, it would have been this;

"if ye picked option #2, then why do folks on USPOL so often use polls to lend weight to thar opinion?"

aye!

- MeadHallPirate

Well, I guess it's a sort of "safety in numbers" sort of thing. A lot of weight is given, rightly or wrongly, to points that seem to be popular - but then there's the mob mentality thing, too. I've been on both sides. Back in 2001 when everyone was masturbating to go to war with anyone and just let the bombs fly, I was in the minority - I think I was and still am right that we shouldn't have gone to war (especially in Iraq) - though that wasn't a popular belief (or maybe it was and the media didn't cover that). Now, I happen to stand with the majority of Americans who support either a Public Option or Single-payer health care plan - I still think I'm right, but now I have support on my side.

So, while having the numbers support you doesn't necessarily validate your argument, it sure feels nice and comfy having others in agreement - and that tends to tempt one to "brandish" the numbers.

Just my two cents.

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The BIG and controversial question here is why America is such a rich developed and organized country, when such a large part of its population are so stupid and ignorant? I just dont understand that contradiction, I really dont!

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January the 20th 2009. The day I started to respect America!

*nods to Rude Boy*

aye matey, that seems sorta spot on to me...the part that seems curious to me, be that whilst folks do wave around them polls 'o the american public on any given issue, thar also seems to be a sentiment that americans don't know what the hell they be talkin' about.

it just kinda strikes me as inconsistent.

aye?

- MeadHallPirate

*tries to recall when he was a young mariner...*

hmmm....

*thinks hard*

ahoy Sunshine!

when i was a lad, i can remember me parents got Time magazine (its a very different magazine now than it was then, decades ago) and the local paper. when i was a bit older, high school i think, they got the new york times (we made our port in the suburbs 'o new york, both me parents be moderate conservatives).

i figure that nowadays, folks would be more informed than ever, fer they've a variety 'o points 'o view available to'm thru the internets. imma not sure that its worked out that way though.

aye.

- MeadHallPirate

It's a great way to try to legitimize that which can't be supported by reason.

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Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?

--Hunter S. Thompson