The Impact Of Ignorance
Do you know who the current vice president is? How about when the declaration of independence was signed? Maybe you even know why we fought the cold war? Well if you do, be proud of yourself because, unfortunately, you’re smarter than a lot of Americans. Studies show that only 65% of native-born Americans could get the required six out of 10 right answers on the United States Citizenship test. But why? Well the answer isn’t stupidity — it’s ignorance.
American citizens are granted the privilege to participate in the election of their nation’s leaders but it’s evident that they are falling short of the democratic ideal of a well-informed electorate. As a result, citizens may have difficulty translating their policy preferences into a partisan opinion, which in turn, can cause public opinion and election results to diverge from the counterfactual world they all live in.
Steve Chapman, columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune, writes in his article “Mixing Ignorance and Democracy” that “there is a consistently large gap between what people need to know and what they actually do know” (Chapman). The effects of political information on political behaviour hold crucial consequences for the quality of democratic representation; this issue ultimately begs the question: is there a need for voter requirement reform? LZ Granderson, American journalist and commentator, says, “we wouldn’t issue a driver’s license to someone unable to pass the written test, knowing the potential damage that a person could do behind the wheel. Why do we look at voting differently” (Granderson)?
It’s time for citizens to care about the society they live in by learning about the challenges the nation faces and elect a leader who is capable of fixing them. Not only that, it’s also time our nation places restrictions on voter eligibility. Do you really want someone who doesn’t know what the three branches of government are making an impact in the election of your nation’s leader? The implementation of tests would create an incentive for citizens to learn about the government they’re under and make a logical affiliation to a party representing their beliefs on how our nations issues should be settled. Any avid follower of politics has undoubtedly heard the phrase “people get the government they deserve” and why should the ones who actually care be encumbered as a result of ignorant voters? The answer is easy. They shouldn’t.
