Informed Opinions Do Not Equate to Indifference- 887words
Jason Browne’s article, “If You Don’t Have an Opinion, Relax”, attempts to equate ignorance to patriotism. He favors fence sitting. Fine and well, if one can see both sides. Mr. Browne’s willingness to pen such opinions is dangerous – it gives students the right to vote while they hover under a cloud of ignorance. Sitting on the fence is admirable; at least a person is informed enough about the issue to be aware that it is in his universe. A person with no information, though, is rendering a disservice to himself and his community. To hold an uninformed opinion on an issue that you know nothing about, and then vote, is a slap in the face to all who follow the issues. Jason Browne states, “There is no reason to vilify those who don’t care”. This comes in stark contrast to his earlier statement, “College students are at the zenith … educated enough to develop compelling arguments.” If students are intelligent enough to develop their own arguments, they should be intelligent enough (or linear enough) to realize that not knowing is far different than not caring -- and more dangerous.
While the number of students who say they know the issues, and vote, increase yearly, sadly, the percentage of those same students who do grasp the issues are declining. According to Pew Research Center, the 2008 presidential election saw a fifty-one percent turnout among voters under the age of 25. At the same time, polls revealed a shocking rate of students who are clueless why they vote a particular way, or what the issues are. It is becoming more popular to say you voted than why you voted. College students averaged a score of fifty percent on a wide-ranging civic test, failing by most accepted standards. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute shows that less than half of college students knew that 9/11 occurred in 2001, or that the President of the United States before “Bill Clinton” was named “George Bush” (the last...