We’ve seen definite signs of the abject stupidity of the American voter in 2024 in so many ways. There are the states where voters put abortion rights in their constitutions but voted for senators who want a national ban. The fact (and it is a fact) that searches for “Did Biden drop out?” spiked on Google on Election Day, as well as searches for “tariffs” and “who pays for tariffs?”, may seem like small data points, but it points to a larger issue with deliberate ignorance. Apathy is one thing, as in “I don’t care about politics,” but that’s not an excuse to be totally disengaged. I don’t give a damn about football, but I know the Giants and the Jets suck because I pay attention to the world around me.
It’s even worse when it comes to the things people believe that simply are untrue. For instance, a Gallup poll released this week showed that a majority of voters don’t know what they’re talking about. They were asked if “you believe the United States has made progress, stood still or lost ground in each during the last four years, since Joe Biden became president” on a variety of issues. A majority said we’ve “lost ground” on immigration (64%), the economy (59%), and crime (51%), among others. And that’s simply objectively untrue. Immigration is under greater control than it’s been in years, so much so that there isn’t much for Trump to do at the southern border. The economy is doing great and crime rates are at historic lows.
