The informed public is considerably less hawkish about war with Iraq than the public as a whole. Those who show themselves to be most knowledgeable about the Iraq situation are significantly less likely to support military action, either to remove Saddam from power or to disarm Iraq.
Democracy is a word that has been so abused that it's now difficult to give it a concrete meaning. But note that the belief reflected in its original definition — that political power should be exercised by the people as a whole— must be undermined by so much evidence that the people as a whole are aggressively clueless. If the average American has become as ignorant as a 17th century Russian peasant, doesn't it make more sense to put important decisions in the hands of the czar? Pious patriots will reply that this is why we have government by representation, rather than direct democracy. In which case we can only hope our government isn't too representative of its people.
Widespread ignorance of our history and principles of government is a serious problem, one that reverberates through every civic institution in America. If young people cannot construct a meaningful narrative of American history, then there is little hope that the nation can live up to the highest task of a pluralistic liberal democracy: forging a common strength of purpose out of disparate and sometimes alien parts. If they don't know what made George Washington or Jane Addams or Martin Luther King, Jr. great, they won't know how to find greatness in themselves and in their fellow citizens. If they don't understand why we should commemorate Independence Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving and other national holidays, great and small, they won't understand the events, great and small, that shape their present and future.
USA TODAY/CNN Gallup Poll results
Poll: 70% say things going well in Iraq - The findings suggest that the public is less concerned about the messiness of the Iraq situation than many critics of the Bush administration. Seven in 10 people in a poll said the Bush administration implied that Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, were involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. And a majority, 52%, said they believe the United States has found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam was working closely with the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
Stupid ---
1. Wanting in understanding; in a state of stupor; stupefied.
2. Sluggish in understanding; slow-witted; crassly foolish.
3. Resulting from, or showing mental dullness; foolish; witless.
Ignorant ---
1. Destitute of knowledge or education.
2. Lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified.
3. Resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence.
And for you "truly stupid" idiots out there (who comprise at least 90% of the population) who cannot or will not see that anything at all is wrong with this "great country of ours", may Our Lord bless your moronic souls. Ignorance is not bliss!!
Disprove the myths of ignorance
The Great American Civics Quiz tests your knowledge of the foundation and fundamentals of our government. We firmly believe it is your responsibility to be knowledgeable about the government that offers you the greatest opportunity in the world for freedom and individual success.
Retro Poll was established in 2002 to investigate, expose, and challenge bias in corporate media polling. Retro Poll moves beyond critical analysis of poll methodology to re-work poll questions, background information, and methods and then actually perform new polls on the same issues. We do not claim the capability of pure objectivity.
