Low Information Voters

This is a term that has been used with some frequency lately. It refers to not only voters with a low quantity of information but perhaps more importantly to those with limited sources of information. There are increasingly voters who obtain information from extremely limited sources, maybe one News channel and a few blogs and websites. Neuroscientists have demonstrated that the tendency of those with limited sources with whom they agree is to become more rigid in their opinions.

One of the phrases one hears and maybe one uses is" I cannot understand how anyone could…". The dots are typically filled in by such phrases as support a candidate or attack a candidate or disagree with some policy. What the"I cannot understand "phrase really means is that" I violently disagree with that and think anybody who doesn't is a dumb shit." If one really wants to understand the position of those with whom they violently disagree turning to neuroscience is helpful. What one can learn from books such as" The Undoing Project" by Michael Lewis and other similar books is that various biases- confirmation bias, affirmation bias-exert a great influence over the opinions one has. It is not easy to examine the biases and why they lead to certain results, even if you try to examine your own biases. But it does demonstrate that those with whom you disagree are not necessarily dumb shits. Most often it is their life experiences which create biases that lead them to their conclusions, not a lack of intelligence . And, of course, the tendency to gravitate towards information which confirms these biases only aggravates the problem.

Democrats need to cease acting and stating in patronizing style, acting smug and complacent, if they wish to change the the opinions and voting of some of those with whom they disagree. Primarily, the Democrats need to deal much differently with the voters in the part of the country extending from West Virginia to Wisconsin that deserted them in 2016. Instead of acting as though they feel these people are complete fools they need to examine what compelled that result, what created the biases that led to the voting change. One of the things they could do is a concerted effort not to tell these voters in a lecturing sort of fashion what they need to think but actually go and ask them questions." What are the things that most bother you? What sort of infrastructures does your state and community need? What sort of job training programs would help you?" They do need to argue that the promises Trump made about better healthcare ,more jobs, tax cuts for the middle and lower class have not been honored. But they need to fashion their own proposals in collaboration with those voters they wish to convince. If you wish people to side with you, you need to show them some respect.