In 2004, I traveled over 100 miles to see John Edwards host a rally in Columbus, Ohio during John Kerry's debate against George Bush. On the way there, I realized that I hadn't brought a camera, and so I stopped off the freeway to get some disposable cameras at one of those obscenely giant truck stops. As I plopped three disposables on the counter, the cashier asked (in a very thick drawl that has always shocked me to hear in my home state, having grown up in urban northeast Ohio) where we were going with so many cameras. I replied, proudly, "We're going to see John Edwards."
Her response: "Who's that?" My jaw dropped. I must have looked at her like she had fish coming out of her ears. At least she didn't ask if he talks to dead people.
I've since been told I shouldn't be shocked that a rural girl working at the Wal-Mart of gas stations, basically living in a town that was nothing but a "super" gas station, did not know the name of the man who had been running for Vice President for several months. I don't agree. I still think it should be totally shocking to everyone with a bit of sense. But what is shocking me today is how many completely ignorant people are out there right now, in 2008, everywhere.
I recently took a job in the Golden Triangle district of downtown Pittsburgh. (Which, incidentally, isn't gold so much as it's kind of brown.) The office is fairly relaxed. I'm not a morning person so I take a later shift, and at the end of that shift there shouldn't be anyone left in the office but a British guy and the fairly outspoken mother of a teenage daughter who is an Obama fan. I speak freely at that point. But sometimes, someone lingers and catches part of our conversation. Today, someone lingered and I thought I was going to either get slapped in the face, or with a sexual discrimination suit.
Obama Mama said something about how it's all about Palin now, and asked why anyone cared about her. I said, "Well, I care, because McCain is 72 years old, has had cancerous growths removed from his body four times, and Palin is scary."
Whooooosh... all of the sudden, New Bilingual Rep is in front of me. Directly in front of me, blocking my view. She leapt out of her cubicle like it was a superpower. I didn't even know she was there. Demanding, "Why did you say she's scary?"
For a moment I kept talking to Obama Mama, ignoring the suddenly outraged New Bilingual Rep. "Why did you say she's scary," she said, this time emphasizing every word. "Because she's a woman?"
"Well," I replied, looking her straight in the eye, "she ran up a $20 million dollar deficit for a town of around 6,000, and they don't even have a sewage treatment plant. She remodeled her office three times, they built a park and an athletics center, the latter on land they don't even own. It's been in litigation for the past seven years."
Fortunately for me, NBR seemed less hostile at this point, but unfortunately for democracy, she seemed confused. "When was she a mayor?"
"21 months ago, roughly. Of Wasilla, Alaska."
"Oh, I thought she was a governor. And commander of the National Guard in Alaska or something."
After explaining, NBR started to walk away. When she was nearly out of sight, British guy asked me sarcastically, "So, who do you want to win the election?" NBR muttered something along the lines of, "How about none of them" and something about someone being a "mass child molester." (Which, I guess, would be about the ridiculous attack ad McCain put out.)
This is what disturbs me, on an almost daily basis. Here is a young college-educated woman. Although I don't know her well, she seems decent enough and average enough. Every day, I run into people like her, that don't seem to know one factual thing about the election that is taking place. How does our democracy function like this?
OK, stupid question. Right now, it doesn't. Better question: How does something like this happen? How can Americans be discerning enough to figure out that the latest cast member of a reality TV show is lying to someone, but can't figure out whether or not to believe an political attack ad on television? How does a United States citizen think that there's a local civilian with the title of "commander of the national guard in Alaska"?
I know that one of the cornerstones of the GOP Revolution was an assault on public schools that left the masses uneducated and undereducated and unable to evaluate an argument. What about the college educated, though? What happened to the Internet, 57 channels of (abysmal but existent) news commentary, books, newspapers, radio, and everything else?
How is it possible that we have not just LOWER information voters, but a populace with no critical thinking skills whatsoever?
Just to make this rant productive, an observation: plain, apolitical facts shut down the confrontation I had today. I didn't say Obama this, McCain that, MSNBC said this, Fox Noise said that... I laid out what I think is a very disturbing fact (that a person that was mayor of a town of 6,000, and left it in such a sorry state, could be president in as little as four months.) I may not have gotten a convert to our side, but by the look on her face, I think I might have taken one from the other team.
What people are lacking are facts and the facts in context to how they affect their lives or their country.
Don't assume that people know and go into political spin mode or talk about the personalities. Assume they don't know. Because nine times out of ten, they really don't.
What bothers me is that we (and to some extent the Obama campaign) take it on faith that people know something about what's going on. They don't. And we won't win by assuming that they do.