When discussing the reasons behind voter apathy in POSI 2320 I found the most compelling idea to be the indirect measurement of satisfaction among American citizens. I guess the reason that it was so interesting to me is the fact that it is not surprising. Growing up in a materialistic society where the standard of living can fluctuate depending on a person’s work or circumstances, we each create our own little world filled with goals, wants, and expectations. Everything else, in this case including politics, is just background noise. More people voted for their favorite singer in last season’s American Idol than they did on this past election and again it isn’t surprising. American Idol is something common, something that most people are familiar with and feel that they understand, while politics is an elusive creature, hidden among the brush of pre-ingrained bias and media misdirection. Politics is not something that someone can easily jump into and understand, there is no universal handbook or manual that can explain all the details and that fact alone can be daunting to many people. In our own little world we surround ourselves with things that we know. A person may understand that politics effect how they live, how much money they’ll end up paying for taxes and gas, but it isn’t a priority. If there is one thing we all have in common it is that it is in our nature to hate not knowing something. A person would rather ignore the matter all together instead of acknowledging ignorance of something. It is an idea that is tainted with a bit of pride and can be related to politics. We don’t take the time to understand and be informed so we either vote with the crowd based on someone else’s opinion, and relinquish responsibility, or we decide not to vote at all with the time old ‘if I can’t make an educated vote than I’m not going to vote at all’ excuse. No matter which route is taken there is an assumed measurement of satisfaction in what ever we do. We don’t choose to learn more because we are satisfied by what we already know/don’t know and our personal reasons behind those choices, and stubbornly stay with what is familiar. It’s just like how the saying goes; ignorance is bliss
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