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A properly functioning democracy requires voters to be well informed about political issues. Not knowing what's going on means you can't make an informed choi

A properly functioning democracy requires voters to be well informed about political issues. Not knowing what's going on means you can't make an informed choice if or when you vote. Often, you have the choice of two or more equally unsatisfactory (or equally good) candidates so change doesn't happen and voting might not matter, but sometimes countries change very rapidly for the worse, like Germany did in 1933, so it isn't always possible to stay insulated from events. Of course, many news sources are unreliable, or biased, and most voters are poorly informed or easily manipulated, and many important issues are so complex that learning about them would take up most of people's spare time, but if people make more of an effort to stay informed, and learn to recognize bias and disinformation, and vote accordingly, things might become better than they would otherwise be.

kenoph 7y ago
I kind of agree with Aaron Swartz: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews
pkalinowski 7y ago
What following then news gives you is more chaos and disinformation. Every time there is a vote coming up, you can look up information on all important things collected nicely afer they've been settled, by people following politics.
- DonaldFisk 7y ago
  What I'm arguing for is to stay well-informed, and that usually involves delving a bit deeper than just passively listening to news broadcasts or passively reading news sites. Yes, you can visit web sites which help you to decide who to vote for by asking you questions (and which, incidentally, collect your responses for whatever purpose they choose), but your answers, and the recommendation of who to vote for, might change if you became better informed.
  - kungtotte 7y ago
    I totally buy your argument that an informed public is a good thing and a requirement for a functioning democracy. I vehemently disagree that the current news media is the way to reach that goal. As things stand as of this moment I think we would be better off if nobody read the news. Misinformed is no better than uninformed, and often worse.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - DonaldFisk 7y ago
      > I vehemently disagree that the current news media is the way to reach that goal. Yes, you need to learn what's happening, and why, from a variety of sources.
INTPenis 7y ago
I'm pretty sure I would hear about kids breaking shop owners windows for being of a certain cultural origin. Even without checking the news. Like I said, some news manages to filter through to me. And it's often completely pointless. For example Youtube sometimes recommends news from my country to me, even if I never watch it. in 2019 I can remember them recommending news about some missing girl up north. But I had to hear from my friends about a handicapped guy who was shot 25 times by the police for playing with a toy gun. They didn't recommend that one. I do vote btw. Since I don't consider myself capable of keeping up with politics I vote with my instincts, as most others. I either vote for the social democrats/left or the green party. I don't fuss over details or little missteps they might have done. I believe the green party has the right direction and their voice needs to be stronger in parliament. Equally I believe the left still cares about workers rights and unions.
- DonaldFisk 7y ago
  > I'm pretty sure I would hear about kids breaking shop owners windows for being of a certain cultural origin. Even without checking the news. If you're referring to Kristallnacht that would have been about five years too late. It's happened more recently, elsewhere. Political parties change what they stand for over time, sometimes drastically.

kenoph 7y ago

I kind of agree with Aaron Swartz: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews

pkalinowski 7y ago

What following then news gives you is more chaos and disinformation. Every time there is a vote coming up, you can look up information on all important things collected nicely afer they've been settled, by people following politics.

DonaldFisk 7y ago
What I'm arguing for is to stay well-informed, and that usually involves delving a bit deeper than just passively listening to news broadcasts or passively reading news sites. Yes, you can visit web sites which help you to decide who to vote for by asking you questions (and which, incidentally, collect your responses for whatever purpose they choose), but your answers, and the recommendation of who to vote for, might change if you became better informed.
- kungtotte 7y ago
  I totally buy your argument that an informed public is a good thing and a requirement for a functioning democracy. I vehemently disagree that the current news media is the way to reach that goal. As things stand as of this moment I think we would be better off if nobody read the news. Misinformed is no better than uninformed, and often worse.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - DonaldFisk 7y ago
    > I vehemently disagree that the current news media is the way to reach that goal. Yes, you need to learn what's happening, and why, from a variety of sources.

INTPenis 7y ago

I'm pretty sure I would hear about kids breaking shop owners windows for being of a certain cultural origin. Even without checking the news. Like I said, some news manages to filter through to me. And it's often completely pointless. For example Youtube sometimes recommends news from my country to me, even if I never watch it. in 2019 I can remember them recommending news about some missing girl up north. But I had to hear from my friends about a handicapped guy who was shot 25 times by the police for playing with a toy gun. They didn't recommend that one. I do vote btw. Since I don't consider myself capable of keeping up with politics I vote with my instincts, as most others. I either vote for the social democrats/left or the green party. I don't fuss over details or little missteps they might have done. I believe the green party has the right direction and their voice needs to be stronger in parliament. Equally I believe the left still cares about workers rights and unions.

DonaldFisk 7y ago
> I'm pretty sure I would hear about kids breaking shop owners windows for being of a certain cultural origin. Even without checking the news. If you're referring to Kristallnacht that would have been about five years too late. It's happened more recently, elsewhere. Political parties change what they stand for over time, sometimes drastically.