Part II

RS reader:
It's true that [Trump] polls well. But he has yet to say anything of substance in any debate or public appearance. He makes grandiose claims that things are going to be so great but he has never, ever laid out even a hint of how that will be accomplished.

That a complete narcissist would run for President is not surprising. What is disheartening, if not completely surprising, is the number of pollees (new word alert) who fal for it. The gradual liberal takeover of our educational system that started in the late 60s and has gripped everything from Headstart through universities has come to fruition. We have the least discerning electorate in the history of the country. Sure, there are places like RedState which are populated by a lot of intelligent, critical thinkers; but the left and large parts of the middle are lacking in common logic. Even many so-called conservatives apparently have no basic philosophical understanding of our form of government and the underlying principles. […]

The notion that Redstate is "populated by a lot of intelligent, critical thinkers" is quite laughable. But there are a few deep thinkers over there. And I agree with the rest of the Reader's repsonse. Our educational system has been an abysmal Failure going back Years (at least 2.5 Decades). And, as a nation, WE …no doubt…pay a price for that failure Each and Every Day.

Thank you so much, Truthiz1. Political season always provides me with a plethora of great topics to write about! xD

The truth is, at this pivotal time in our American democracy, I can think of a few factors more crucial in determining the forward (or backward) direction of Our country than whether We have a majority electorate who are Informed or Ignorant.

My response to this post is in two Parts.

Part I

I recently read a 2004 essay by Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. I think her essay compliments DJ's post beautifully.

"When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: How Political Ignorance Threatens Democracy"

Excerpt:

An informed electorate is a prerequisite for democracy. If voters do not know what is going on in politics, they cannot rationally exercise control over government policy. Large-scale voter ignorance poses a serious danger to American democracy in the 2004 election and beyond.

Extent of Ignorance

A survey taken immediately after the closely contested November 2002 congressional elections found that only about 32 percent of respondents knew that the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives prior to the election. That result is consistent with research showing widespread ignorance of congressional party control in previous elections.

Such widespread ignorance is not of recent origin. As of December 1994, a month after the takeover of Congress by Newt Gingrich’s Republicans, 57 percent of Americans had never even heard of Gingrich, whose campaign strategy and policy stances had received massive publicity in the immediately preceding weeks. In 1964, in the midst of the Cold War, only 38 percent were aware that the Soviet Union was not a member of NATO. Most of the time, only bare majorities know which party has control of the Senate, some 70 percent cannot name either of their state’s senators, and the vast majority cannot name any congressional candidate in their district at the height of a campaign.

Overall, close to one-third of Americans can be categorized as “know-nothings” almost completely ignorant of relevant political information. […]

Source: libertarianism.org

Fast forward to today – 2016:

Sadly, I'd say the percentage of Americans categorized as "know-nothings" has increased significantly to 40% if not slightly higher.