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Showerthought: 2 out of 3 people can't name the person they're voting for, and I got weirdly mad about it
I was looking at a Pew stat last week that said only about a third of adults can name both of their senators, and it hit me harder than it should have. We argue nonstop online but can't fill in two blank boxes. I tested my own family at dinner Sunday in Austin and my brother got zero out of two. He's on Facebook all day. That gap bothers me more than any single policy fight, because how do you even hold anyone to account if you don't know who they are? I'm not saying everyone needs a civics degree, but knowing the two names on the ballot feels like the bare minimum. Have you ever asked someone close to you this and been surprised by the answer?
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charlie_stone722d ago
Knowing the two names on the ballot feels like the bare minimum" sounds nice but I'd push back hard on that. Names are trivia. Plenty of people who can recite both senators couldn't tell you a single vote they cast or what the bill actually did. Meanwhile somebody who can't name them might still know their own life got harder when a local factory shut down or their rent jumped, and they vote on that. I'd rather have a voter who feels the effect than one who memorized a flashcard. The real issue is whether people know what these folks are doing, not what they're called. Your brother bombing the dinner quiz doesn't mean he's asleep at the wheel, it means you tested the wrong thing.
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