Quote Originally Posted by j3374 View Post
BTW, Metal,

In response to your belief that few people are "middle of the road" politically, I agree completely. I also agree that it's possible that a majority of the center could be the result of being uninformed or apathetic.

Just for the record, I'm registered as an Independent. I don't claim to be extremely informed in world and domestic events- I try to keep up with the basics. I'm more informed than a majority of my coworkers, but have a lot of areas that I'm admittedly ignorant about. Friends and acquaintances have perceived me as left or right depending on the subject matter and their own political vantage point.

I do make myself take in news from a variety of sources, though. I listen to PBS & NPR on the radio. I watch FOX online, and yes, I do watch some Colbert and Stewart online also (keeping in mind that it's satire). I do this specifically because I studied journalism and know how much the media can manipulate information and our views.

I don't vote or have a strong stance on issues that I feel like I'm not well informed on. I try to listen instead and learn instead of taking a stance most of the time.
I understand where you're coming from. We all have lives we have to live and there's often not enough time to dig deep into every issue on earth...plus, let's be honest, sometimes it can be pretty stinking boring. I understand that completely, I simply wish people would put in more time and thought and realize how much a lot of things actually do affect their lives. Everything government does affects all of us greatly. Fortunately for government, the things they do, often the consequences are seemingly small at first, they go unnoticed and slowly build over time. Then once radical consequences have occurred, because the effects are often gradual, by the time they're massive we don't notice as much. It's sneaky, morally wrong and in my opinion extremely dangerous. Thomas Paine was right, government is a necessary evil, but it is certainly evil.