How stupid are American voters?

deffitantly agree, and to ellaborate: i feel that many parents, schools, mentors, teachers, and role model figures do not promote the youth (the youth ultimately becoming the bulk) to analyze and critically think at an early age. I lived in Italy for 3 years and then to Spain and France for a brief time, my point of saying this - people read, people are out at cafes, out on there porch, reading, analyzing, opening their eyes.. teens discuss stuff, talk about politics and social problems.

It is a serious problem that the American youth is more worried about Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon getting married and Snoop Dogg's (the man responsible for a catastrophic disaster in the African American community and such ultimate destruction of morality and self-respect) new album then the thousands of social problems that the baby boomer generation has left for us. (in and out of America)

Dumb enough to not see that that democracy has been dead in this country for a long time.

The answer- incerdibily, absoultely incerdibaly stipid

I did a large survey and wrote an article about the senior class of a local high school. 2/3 of the class could correctly identify all the names of the cartoon Simpson family. 12% of the students didn't know how many stars were on the American flag (odd thing was - there was an American flag in every room in which the survey was taken). Only ONE of the students could identify the first five amendments (although they were incorrectly numbered).

President Bush once asked - "Is our children learning?"
The answer - No, Mr. Bush, they isn't.

Gotta go with Stardate on the first page.

One recurring theme is that everyone else is to blame but us. CNN is educating us? And its their fault? I understand the election isn't much of a choice, almost a complete farce but its still in our hands to change. although i think it won't and possibly can't. It still points at us.

I don't think we as a people are necessarily stupid. Ignorant however, yes. But that's not entirely our fault. The media is displaying all this stuff that honestly is irrelevant so it's harder for us to find out what's really going on. Thanks CNN, it's great to know that according to AAA less people will be going on roadtrips this summer because of high gas prices but what am I supposed to use that information for?! A conversation starter at a cocktail party? Please. I think it's about time we stop reciting statistics and make an attempt to FIX our problems, starting with electing a reliable and competent president.

After 9/11, nearly no American news organization was reporting accurately. Part of the reason that Americans are ignorant is because of bad media, something that CNN is not fessing up to in this particular interview/broadcast.

i think the more politically correct term would be "ignorant" not "stupid, but it will do...

The more we know, the more we know we don't know.

Completely sad but true...People
don't care enough because we are obsessed with possessions and personal comfort. It the 17th Century they called it the potential "rascal multitude" that means that as long as the people have enough to keep them distracted in the way of personal property and pleasure they will never stand up to any oppression or misuse of power. The IRS is a prime example. By the way we are due for another Tea Party. That will stop the war and it will give us electric cars and clean environment and the power to the people. We need to wake up now!

The media is to blame

the country is ran by lobbyists not voters!

it'll be proved when McCain get in office..
Stupid Americans..lolol

I think we are inundated with so much information and disinformation that people filter out what doesn't suite their politics, beliefs, or agenda. So there is a false reality for many people.

Stop making excuses! If the American public is uninformed, they have no one to blame but themselves! All the tools are there. Voters have more access to information about the issues and the candidates than at any other point in history! Nobody wants to speak the truth! Politicians can't say it- they'll lose votes. The media can't say it- they'll lose ratings. But it's true just the same. Americans are drooling, slackjawed morons. Next time you go to the movies, stop the first ten people you meet and ask them who the current U.S. Secretary of State is! I dare you! Too tough? How about three members of the Supreme Court? I'm guessing 3 out of 10 will be able to answer correctly. Nobody gives a damn. People moan about how worthless Congress is- their approval rating is in the toilet! But the same worthless bastards are elected year after year. Bush robs us of our civil liberties and the public yawns and turns the channel to American Idol. This is not a Great Nation. It's just better than the alternatives. The only thing Great about the U.S. is the Constitution, but we don't bother following that dusty old thing anymore. Rome has fallen. Get over it. All you can do is try to keep the world from collapsing into an unbearable hell for the sake of your kids. At the moment that means keeping Republicans away from positions of power until they can shake their infatuation with fascism. But yes, there's a good chance your neighbor is as stupid as a wet hammer.

MTV

How stupid an American voter is simply depends upon that person's willingness to read and research about the candidates in question, as opposed to just going along with whatever their political affiliation or special interests are. For example: What good is a president that is concerned with protecting the nation's borders, but is willing to let it go to hell internally (Bush)? Really, as far as how a president impacts a nation, the internal stuff, like health care and the economy, must be a first priority.

How one feels about moral issues---abortion, gay rights, etc, should be a last consideration, if at all. I am a Christian myself, and I am rather disgusted with how the issues that are most irrelevant to the prosperity of this nation became the first priority. Running a country is a matter of business, and a thing of this world, not of faith. Thus, one good example of a stupid voter is one who allows their church or PFLAG group decide how they will vote.

Regardless of how you feel about the issues, or whatever rumors you might have heard, the best thing to do is trust only that which is verifiable fact. If the verifiable facts speak positively about a candidate in terms of how he will affect the nation as a whole, then vote for him.

Americans aren't stupid as much as they are mostly lazy.They hear something on the radio or TV and they don't bother to research the information they are given. Someone like George Soros comes along and starts a wacko left-wing website and uses money to defame, libel, and otherwise assassinate the character of anyone who doesn't agree with him by making up bold-face lies or by grossly distorting the truth. Lunatic liberals read the garbage Soros puts out there and accepts it as gospel truth without ever bothering to research the information. The problem has only gotten worse now that NBC and MSNBC have crawled into the tank for liberals. There is no hope for NBC News of ever regaining its credibility as a legitimate news source so long as it remains biased toward the socialist, Nazi, liberal agenda.

People need to stop reading propaganda sites and start reading real news and government information sources and actually trying to understand them. If this were to happen, then people like Soros and even Barack Obama could be marginalized and kept from causing any more harm to America. So long as people don't check out the news for themselves, America is doomed to become another failed socialist nation.

The purpose of the 9/11 attacks was never to declare war on America. It was to incite war within America. So far, Osama bin Laden's plan has worked even better than he could have hoped and it is all thanks to the America-hating liberals.

Hope you all enjoy socialism 'cause it's a comin'

I don't think we should be pointing the finger at ourselves...Schools and Mass Media aren't really helping out with our uniformity. Everytime I turn on the news, even CNN or MSNBC, I get useless information about "What's the new hot fashion this summer!"

Wait isn't there a war going on?

Stupidity is what the Republicans count on. Do you really think "No Child left Behind" was an accidental failure?

Americans don't WANT to know the truth. They would rather not feel obligated in any way to not drive an SUV, or stop eating meat, or watch something other than American Idol or Gossip Girl every night. They like being in the dark so that they don't have to deal with feelings of guilt about how the rest of the world lives. Until it affects them directly, they won't bother to care. Good thing is, that with gas prices at an all-time high, they may just have to start pulling their heads out of their asses and vote for the best candidate, rather than whoever represents the party they affiliate themselves with.

I'm french and i don't think that american are so dumb.
They are not informed, they are manipulated by the Elite and the Powerful Families(and, if i can tell, the religion), and medias.
Americans are not dumb, but they are not interested in the rest of the world.
Actually i'm from france, and the history of my country depend on many other country (USA included).
That's why french people know where irak, or pakistan, or whatever country are.Cause we have a political, economical relations with them.
BUT USA TOO!
So why most of americans, when i was in USA, told me about the fact they save us from the germans, and didn't know about frenchs save them from englishs?
Why a big part of their history is hidden in History book at school?
Why, americans are not curious about what happened in the politic,economy of germany, england, france,india when they hear something on tv, they approve and that's it!?
We had "riots" in suburb, most of my NYC friends called me totally frightened.
It was nothing!!!!But TV shows only what they want.
Actually they showed images from older riots we had(in the 90')they mixed everything together and tadadadadadadadada!!!!!!Frenchs are killed in the street?!

America want money, what about idea?

its this simple

"FOX News, we make it up, you believe it"!!!

Bush got more than one vote last election so I believe "How stupid are American voters?" is a rhetorical question and needs no answer.

Some are stupid enough to want to Vote for McCain

It's not only safe to say we are way past stupid, but this thread proves it for those of us who insist it ain't so. We are spending time arguing how stupid or not stupid we are while the same ol' bullshit occurs all around us.

I think you can add "complacent", "socially retarded", "egotistic", "apathetic", "inactive", "fat, "blind", "very stupid", "border line retarded", and a slew of other accurate but not flattering adjectives/descriptives to the list.

Remember, America is a HUGE country, and if you want every single American to know what's going on in the world, it's going to be impossible. People come from all walks of life, and honestly? Some just aren't aware of it. Some of them are, but they don't understand what's being said. And some? They just don't care...

You say some people can't point Iraq in the map? Shiiit, some people can't even point Wyoming, or even Vermont in the map! Some people have more exposure to the world than others, and it's true even in your own neighborhood! I'm sure there would be a difference between the awareness of a country cowboy from rural Texas and a gay bartender in Downtown Los Angeles.

So really... it's not that we're stupid. We would just prefer looking at Paris Hilton all day being a waste of a person in a glamorous world of hypocrisy.... The media is trying to feed us with these reality shows and celebrity gossip to cover up the damage we're doing all around the world to other people. So yeah let's keep watching Paris and Nicole being bulimic whores, while our bombs are going off and killing innocent children and families all over Iraq...

The Image of the average american Is an Overweight, unintelligent pig who believes in only their way or no way. Which, sadly, is almost a truth. I personally think that if we took the time to look inward instead of out to the rest of the world that we would see ourselves for what we really are. We need to step back, we are not a superpower anymore. We need to practice a policy of isolationism for a bit and take care of our impovershed.
ack i'm starting to rant >.

We are very stupid we care more about Sara Jessica Parker wearing the same dress two other people wore more that what is happening in the world. Untill we figure out whats really important we will keep doing the same old s#!t.

How dumb are they,

Well there is a support base for a racist sympathizer for president

also,

If the messiah told his followers to eat their own crap i bet they would

that's how dumb they are. . .

God bless america
God bless big oil
god bless mr. smithers

I kind of see this befitting. No offense, the average american is as dumb as a rock, in my opinion. :/

you can't blame the American public for all of this.
Education is obviously lacking and our culture has become focused around celebrities and going to malls, but superficiality aside, our president and the mainstream news are not telling us the whole truth. That's no surprise. its not that we're "stupid", its that the majority of people simply don't care and don't want to hear about everything that's going on. I mean you can't tell me that the times we're living in are in anyway hopeful.

@drewsuf721

You should write a book. Title it "You Don't Decide Very Much" or "You Don't Decide Anything". Make sure it has a lot of subtitles.

Hell, I'd read it.

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

to quote john mayer "if you trust your televisions, what you get is what you got, cause when they own the information they can bend it all they want."

if you want to be a not dumb America go research Ron Paul, the more you read about him the more you want to know, curiosity is the greatest doorway to education.

Soory, new episode of Deal or No Deal is on... what's happening? =]

No, but seriously. It's sad we've let ourselves become this bunch of uniformed idiots. I guess it's just easier to escape to a fake reality after work than to actually care about what's happening in the world.

Pretty stupid, some of them voted for Bushies and some of them still back the idiot. If he won either election they would look even dumber but being that he fixed them both absolves a few.

Americans are totally uninformed. They are too concerned with celebrities and shopping and Jesus and "winning." It's simple. It's the ignorance of the privileged. Our culture is so privileged, that we have time to while away the hours watching Entertainment Tonight and other advertisements on television.

The crappy US education system is to blame, as is the mentality of inconspicuous consumption and the illusion of glamour.

We need to start calling people on their ignorance! Seriously - get out there and make some noise and criticize people DIRECTLY TO THEIR FACE that their obsession with unimportant issues is ruining the world. Make them angry! It works. End the catatonia.

People want to blame the media like Fox and CNN for giving them horrible information, and while that is partly to blame, it is no excuse. We have a plethora of information on the web, news papers, books, blogs, podcasts, and foreign news channels that can tell us what is really going on without the American bias.

It is no excuse for people to blame the news here in the US. Americans are too lazy to get up from their couch and research.

Not everything is innocent ignorance. Many of those who said Saddam was behind 9/11 did so because that's what they wanted to believe and more
importantly that's what they wanted others to believe. Not that they actually knew Saddam was behind it but they simply didn't care. They created their own
version of the "truth" because that's what made them feel comfortable. It happens all the time in politics. Millions of voters are simply dishonest. Liars who trash pols for their
real or invented lies.

They are not the victims of manipulative politicians.
They themselves are manipulative politicians.

The worst players in this bussiness are the voters. Not the media whores not the consultants not
the pols but Joe and Jane Q.

funny, cnn and other modern media are a major part of the problem. we get fed so much information and it's relevance and importance is so skewed that people don't even know what's important anymore.

that and the majority of people just don't care

The library is FREE, it’s the people, not the sources.

to mostlydead: Yes, but in this case the rape victim put the rapist in office.

One in seven can not find Iraq on a map? You can't blame that on schools, CNN, or even FOX or Bush. Can't name the three branches of the federal government? 'Doh!

Schools broken? Yes: in the 70's and 80's the Democrats recognized the importance of giving ALL americans a free and basic education. The Republicans, however, held back the funds to teach. So, for the last 35 years, we have cash strapped schools with an increasing burden.

But why were the Democrats and Republicans able to put through such broken legislation? Because, in part, the American public in the 70's and 80's was as asleep at the switch as Bush was on 9/11.

And now, we have rejected the candidate with a can-do proven track record for one who merely talks about hope and change.

I still think we are asleep.

I think most of our problems are that we based our information on one channel on t.v and not researching the information to make sure it is not sketchy and just go with the flow.

Come on, everyone has seen this!:

http://www.bushitization.org/Vote_IQ.gif

It provides the Avg IQ of voters per State and which President the State voted for.

It really is no one's fault but your own if you can't answer simple questions about our country.

Blame the media, blame the school teachers, blame whoever you want, that's just making excuses for ignorance rather than doing something to change it.

The truth is, and I wish he had said something about this, Americans are complacent. This is because most believe that we're the best country in the world, where actually less than a third of Americans possess a Passport which would allow them to make that judgment for themselves.

It's true, freedom and ignorance do not mix. The crazy thing is, the ignorant really think they are free.

And if you're trying to defend yourself, misspelled words are a telltale for stupidity.

Stupid = Unintelligent

Ignorant = Uninformed

Ok, who got these confused? Fess up...

We are the greatest nation on Earth. AMerican is the best. Do not listen to this guys bull-crap. Look at what America does and compare that to the rest of the world.

wow-i know im going to catch a lot of slack for this one, but this is the time i wont be caught singing "im proud to be an american". im embarrassed.

...American voters appear stupid enough to be obsessed with following celebrity lifestyles. Only one in five can tell you how many senators there are....but I bet four in five could tell you about the life and times of Britney Spears. Thats the state of the nation.

I think Juler_Soller is correct. Americans are not stupid. The educational system, however, is an abysmal disgrace.
We have voters who think the Consittution is a living, breathing document that means whatever is popular at the moment, we live in a democracy, the popular vote is how the president is elected, the purpose of the government is control of the people. Some incorrect notions that never should survive high school. Probably the most damning evidence of lack of intelligence is the huge support for Obama. Hhmmm, perhaps Americans, at least some, are not as smart as I thought.

Americans are not stupid. But our educational system is a shambles. That's why.

I just want to make a quick comment...if you go back to the last 45 seconds of the video or so you hear him say something about the New York Times printing false information on the front page that would help McCain in his campaign against Obama. As soon as he says that what was on the page was a complete lie, the commentator cuts him off and says something like "yes that is very important..." hmm interesting time to cut off an interview eh?

I saw this when it aired. My experience tells me that the person who is blaming others is usually most at fault. Here's a question? Where was Mr Sanchez(et al) and his Socratic dialogue when we needed him most? This sounds a lot to me like blaming the rape victim for the rapist actions.

We have a saying in my house:
"Don't apologize, just fix it."
We need to stop the circle-jerk blame game and start educating the people around us. Its obvious that the people here share the same ideologies, overall; does your neighbor, classmate, or even family member? Do they have the same access to knowledge that you do? If not, open a door, window, whatever, to get them in the know. If you help just one person to understand then you've made a difference!
It doesn't matter who is to blame if we all work together to eradicate the ignorance,
Knowledge is power, have you forgotten the message of schoolhouse rock?

Hahahahaha.

I don't think it's just Americans. The whole world is full of idiots.

Don't blame the American people for being stupid. Blame a severly underfunded school system program. If kids actually learned academics, current events, and social skills instead of outdated and remedial information then perhaps we would have brighter minds instead of brainwashed ones.

CNN isn't doing much to help either, it's high time there was more honest and truthful journalism. They have an obligation to report the truth as journalists and as American citizens. Same thing goes for the rest of the "news" stations(excluding Current).

Blind leading the blind.....

Sheeple syndrome....

hahaha says the news station that shows TMZ celebrity type news, and how Cindy McCain stole some cookie recipes. The so-called news stations are apart of the fault too

I think as citizens it is our responsibility to educate OURSELVES about our government and our elected representatives. Especially in the world we live in now, there is no limit to the information available to us. Most of us are just lazy (and easily distracted) and that is what makes us ignorant, as opposed to stupid.

The media in our country holds a large part of the blame for the relative stupidity of Americans. They are systematically dumbing down their viewers/readers. However, they do base their coverage on ratings, so Americans are in a way responsible for their own stupidity.

Someone already mentioned Bush.
Let's see what else?

Believing that 9/11 was not caused by Hijacked jet planes hitting both WTC towers but because of some deep, dark conspiracy.

Another poster mentioned analytical skills...
that I can agree with too.

And I'm sorry, but not holding candidates (especially those running for president) accountable is the same type of problem..

We were led astray very easily by Bush, could it happen again?

I'm very much afraid so!

At least American Voters's are smart enough to ignore the world's opinions. The world is in much worse shape than the U.S. Democracy has no meaning in the rest of the world. International travel is an eye opening experience.

And Fox new is one of the most watched fake-news networks in the country.

Any connection?

The word is ETHICS. We have people run for office and tell us they have the experience and they have the education and we can have faith they are going to do the right thing.

We are stuck with a 2 party system that is made up of 2 parties that are the same and do the same things and behave the same way.

Neither party is listening to what the people say. The people want to have a choice between the party that may do the bidding of businesses, and the party that may give working people some power. We don't have that in our government. Both sides follow the line that if its good for GM its good for the rest of us.

People have paid attention and they have mostly all decided that it doesn't make any difference which way they vote, they still get the same thing.

I personally believe that we have to keep after this situation or we are going to loose it all! I believe that if we keep a level playing field between management and labor, our democracy and our economy will work like its suppose to. Thats why people strive to get over here in this country, because we supposedly have this magical market place that allows a guy to succeed if he works hard.

Its just not that way anymore. I have a child who is 46 and there hasn't been a decent job market for working people as long as he has been in the market place.

Some say we have all this worker protection. Do you know what freedom we have, in the work place if we don't think the boss is being fair? We have the freedom to resign! How is that a level playing field?

We all know that competition is our greatest tool to have a fair market place. And we see the FCC giving more and more power to fewer and fewer and old white guys in the news media. Which one our 2 political parties is watching out to make sure we have a level playing field?

An uniformed or misinformed public/citizen, is easier to hoodwink and control.
As for the media, they report what they are told to report, by the people that pay their salaries i.e. business, large and small.
As for polls and studies, I've seen enough of them to know that numbers can be manipulated to show anything the researcher wants them to.
And for Barrack Obama, now that he has been elected as the democratic runner, I will be doing more research on him, before I vote.
(I didn't vote for baby bush either time)
As for what Argon18 said about accountability...ain't that the truth.

People may hate George w bush im not a big fan of him either but Americans need to do their own research on Obama,and quit supporting him just on his sixty second soundbite of change. He may be a reincarnation of something good or bad whatever you may think

CNN is educating us so it is their fault.

That looks like an interesting book.

It's never a surprise when the depths of american ignorance is revealed but it has made me extremely contemptuous of the american people the more it becomes clear that their ignorance and disinterest in their own politics is directly responsible for the murder of millions of innocent people.

I have always said this! Maybe not, "we Americans are stupid," but in the sense that we are not as informed as we should be. I agree with this guy on how it's really not a Republican or a Democratic party that is at fault. The blame goes to those who cannot control the power that is given to them and in fact take it for granted and misuse it on people. This is all psychological. If you give someone too much power... they will misuse it.

Also, I am a strong believer that people in our government, they want us to be naive and ignorant. I believe that they want us to be fearful of the outside world that is not America. Look at our school system. What are the kids taught in there? As far as I'm concerned, not much. Other kids in other countries can speak up to 4 languages! What about us? We are not enforced to learn any other additional languages because we have so much pride that English is the way to go.

To cut my opinion short, the problem with America is that we are not as educated as we should be and we are not using any analytical skills. Instead, we rely on others to give us information and not questioning them. This is why the majority of the people voted for someone called Mr. Bush these past two elections. The evidence was there... you just had to look really hard for it. That is the problem with this country.

It's always interesting to see the media jump on the "American's are idiots" bandwagon, when in reality they supply the information and propaganda to the citizens. The unfortunate, untold part of this story is even when American's are educated to what's really going on, nothing can be done about it.

So it must mean that we should put some simpsons characters in the senate. Then 50% of this nation will identify with and recognize the people who we vote into positions of power.
Every branch of the government could be linked to a different form of obscenely repetitive brain bashing advertainment. Geico lizard will be the executive branch because he is just so speculative.