State of Ignorance: The Grist for Our Political Divide

The attached Article from Newsweek, entitled "How Dumb Are We?", certainly provides food for thought. 

Newsweek surveyed 1,000 people, and 38% could not pass our official Citizenship Test.  29% could not identify our current Vice-President.  73% could not say why we fought the Cold War. 6% could not circle Independence Day on a calendar.

 There is a reasonable chance that, if you are reading this, you could answer all of the above questions, and probably pass the Citizenship Test.  So, like me (at least before my recent epiphany), you probably feel you are not part of the problem.

But, the overwhelming majority of us are unaware of the true facts about how our government is actually run.  We vote not based upon true understanding of the facts, but based upon blind ideology, and impressions formed from television advertisements. 

I have been guilty of this for many years, but now I intend to change.  For me, it started with the HBO documentaries Hot Coffee(2011) and Inside Job (2010), which explain in graphic terms how Big Business is truly in control of our political system, and thus our civil rights, economy and well-being.  Inside Job, produced by Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, won the 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary.  Hot Coffee has my vote for 2011 (what, I don't get a vote?).

My civic education continued last week, when I went up to Zuccotti Park and waded into Occupy Wall Street.  I then performed what I feel to be my civic duty in the Technology Age, getting up early Saturday morning to download/upload pictures and videos from my Blackberry, which accompanied a Blog Post on the subject. 

Today, it continues with this article, and this pledge:  Next time I vote, I will be as informed as possible. Join me?

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