Citizenship requires a certain level of political knowledge, yet most Americans do not know much about politics. What types of political information are Americans most likely to possess? Do you think this is sufficient to fully participate in a democracy? What solutions would you suggest for Americans’ lack of political knowledge?
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Throughout the year’s American political knowledge has decreased with misinformation increasing alongside political polarization. Faith in institutions has declined and citizens are becoming their own curators of wrong information. I’ve noticed that with misinformation and increasingly antagonism distance across party lines where faces can be viewed through the prism of partisanship. Follow me on this, now many Americans generally agree on the democratic ideal and values, but why? For the most part, Americans see the country falling short in living up to these ideals.
The lack of trust in each other’s ability to make political choices are relatively a new phenomenon. It’s believed that many adults have expressed they have little to no confidence in information when it comes to the American people making political decisions. While a small portion expresses a little wisdom, many express strong concerns over the creation and spread of “fake” news. There is so much evidence showing the ignorance the public has about the governments and public policies. Despite the many years of debating over federal government fiscal problems, many voters show they underestimate the high percentage of federal spending. With public ignorance, it doesn’t mean that there is a lack of available information or that the voters are showing stupidity. With the internet having many social media platforms, the government has used modern technology to give political information to the people.
With different ways to learn and get involved, people are spending less time trying to acquire the knowledge they need to make well-informed choices. Some people, follow politics for reasons other than becoming better voters, but creasing political knowledge through education seems to be more difficult than it should seem. I believe we can help eliminate ignorance, but it will not be easy. Many people spend more time and effort seeking information for material things we want to buy, but when it comes to choosing a president of the United States, we have become lost sheep listening to “fake” news.
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