Hello Dutch,
Partially. Apathy is a huge factor, but that apathy is supported by our culture of acceptance that 'political discussions are impolite.' (Which is BS)
Some people take this to heart and never want to talk about politics. And the problem with that is obvious. If nobody ever talked about politics, then no ideas are formed. Nothing gets done.
The truth is there are times when it is certainly in appropriate to talk about politics. But there have to be other times when it is.
It's very convenient for the poorly informed to rattle off the phrase any time someone tries to initiate a political discussion, then refuse to take part. Helps them cover for their lack of understanding.
Another part of our culture is economic. People work hard to earn a living. When they are not working, they are usually taking care of personal business, families, seeking pleasure. The day is over all too quickly. Where is the time to become as well informed as we here in the forum are? We here are the exception. We are into it, fascinated by politics. Most consider it an ugly chore.
So there are two big reasons people are not very well informed, and that's not all.
It's clear people have little time or interest in becoming well informed, but there is a bit of guilt about it, knowing they are not doing their share in taking care of America, overseeing our self-government. So they at least try to pay attention once in a while. That's where propaganda organizations like Fox come in. They wrap the information of what's going on into entertainment. And they add the twist of bias.
The result is worse than if people paid no attention at all to politics. They are getting some information, but what they are getting is conditioned for them by a slick propaganda machine designed to purposely misinform them. They may think they are getting informed, but actually, the information they are getting leaves them less well informed than those who don't watch any news at all.
