In a Salon piece, Amanda Marcotte writes, “So why on Earth are so many voters not getting this? The reason is what political scientist Brian Klaas deems the ‘Ignorance Bias,’ which is where ‘political elites assume most other people think about politics often and have a basic working knowledge of it that is rooted in facts and reality.’ This, as he points out, is a false assumption, as most people barely pay attention to politics. For example, more than half of Americans cannot name a single Supreme Court justice. Most people’s understanding of the news is cursory and impressionistic, cobbled together by half-read headlines, glanced-at images on the news, and vaguely sourced assertions on social media. For those folks who are mostly checked out and satisfy themselves with occasionally looking up at the TV news while getting dressed in the morning, the landscape of information is very different than that of those who are paying attention. … It’s tempting to lay the blame entirely at the feet of ordinary voters for not paying attention. And yes, there’s some blame here, because people really could siphon a half-hour out of their day away from watching reality TV garbage to be a little better informed about politics. But the truth is that politics is boring and hard for most people, and most people are under enough stress as it is, so of course they tune out more than they should. The media has done everyone a disservice by propping up the illusion that the presidential run of either Trump or Biden is in doubt [blah, blah, blah].”
So, the article is partly correct. Despite what the author writes, I do blame — entirely — “ordinary voters for not paying attention.” And I get a bit sick and tired of dumbass Democrats and Progressives blaming the media all the f***ing time. To be sure, I get frustrated with the MSM about their coverage of some stories (e.g., giving too much time to the Palestinian perspective of the war), but there is no way the media has been as neglectful as Marcotte would have you believe, except for Fox News, which has been biased for 25 years and giving traitor trump a free pass for his entire political life. The media is just an easy scapegoat for liberal journalists (and liberals at large), who, apparently, don’t actually monitor the MSM as much as they should before passing such judgments, lest they would understand that the MSM does, in fact, report on those topics that Progressives believe are being ignored or whitewashed. Contrary to what Marcotte may like to think, for example, the MSM has been sounding the alarm about the threat to democracy that traitor trump poses. All one has to do is tune into MSNBC and CNN long enough or read any one of several articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times, or The Atlantic, to name a few publications, to comprehend the danger to democracy of traitor trump returning to the White House.
But therein lies the rub! Liberal journalists, like Marcotte, seem to fall into the same “Ignorance Bias” that they accuse voters of doing. I usually respect Salon writers, but they seem to blame everything on “corporate media” and their profit motive. The thing is that you have to pay attention to the MSM. Sometimes you need to read between the lines: Understand what questions they asked and, more importantly, what they didn’t ask; what words they chose to use to describe a situation; whether they pushed back to answers from an interviewee; what stories they prioritize and which ones they ignore or only give passing reference to. This is how you critically take in reporting from the MSM. Most important of all, you should seek out multiple sources and, for the love of f***ing God, don’t rely solely on social media for news, if at all; don’t limit yourself to what is simply proffered to you on your “news feed.” Now, what I have just described is what basically 90 percent of morons of America do, which is why Americans are so f***ing stupid and willfully ignorant. Marcotte correctly claims politics is boring for most people, but that is no excuse for people not being plugged in. The problem is that morons of America are so engrossed in the trivial that they lose all sight of what really matters. To ignore politics and civics is turning a blind eye to that facet of life that most directly dictates your life. F***tards may think politics does not impact them, for they are all masters of their own domain. Tell that to women in post this post-Roe world. Eh, whatever! Nothing actually matters. I keep hearing political pundits and experts (actual experts and not “experts”) warn that America is sleepwalking right into authoritarianism. No truer words have ever been spoken; all one needs do is look around to understand this is happening as we speak. Oh, well. No one cares because I live in stupid f***ing hell. Welcome to stupid America.