9/11 hearings have little impact on the general public

[Viking12]

My evidence is merely anecdotal, but I had an experience today that I thought I'd share. I teach at a mid-size, midwestern, university. Today in my classes we were discussing atribution theory -- the perceptual process whereby people try to explain other's behavior by attributing motivation to the other. I thought the Richard Clarke revelations and the * administration response would be the perfect vehicle to ilustrate the theory; you know, the WH attributing Clarke's speaking out to selling books, being a disgruntled employee, etc.. Well, when I asked my class what they knew about Clarke and the 9/11 hearings only 1 student in 30 had the vaguest idea to what I was referring and he got the details wrong. My conclusion from this experience is that we may be putting to much faith in the hearings and the attendent media coverage to "do the work." This election will depend on old-fashioned politics -- doing the work at grassroots levels, making contacts, organizing, registering voters, getting the vote out. New media is great and I enjoy the exchange of ideas and inforamtion at this site, but let's not let distract us from the real work that needs to be done.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. It's not being talked about at our office, at least not like

the Clinton/Monica crap. I guess the 9/11 investigation is too boring for most people.

[libbygurl]

5. Unless it's just much too divisive an issue to be office talk?

My very vague impression is that many young people in campuses today are so much more apathetic about issues of the day than the generation before them. Are the youth lost to the allure of a future with cushy, million-dollar lives that have become excessively celebrated just about everywhere you look?

[aquart]

2. And what did you do to MAKE them aware?

I've had plenty of students who didn't think politics had anything to do with them. I explained how the polls they hear are all LIKELY voters. They are not considered LIKELY voters. So those polls are betting they won't vote. Which means that if they get off their asses and go to the polls, they change EVERYTHING. Shocked the hell out of them. They never considered that anything they could do would matter anywhere.

[jrthin]

3. I agree.

Unless it's sex and a democrat, the media does a poor job in informing the public and keeping important information on the front burner. But oops, that's deliberate, isn't it. The media is corporate owned, and an informed public is a danger to all corporation, because it means the public might think.

[Dickie Flatt]

4. baaa! baaaa!

The sheep won't pay attention until someone blows Bush. That's what really matters.

[BillZBubb]

6. Hi Dickie, welcome to DU!

Weren't you last seen giving advice to Phil Gramm?

[alcuno]

7. I taught college freshmen for a year. Not much different from 7th graders

I've had. There was a poll this week showing that nearly 90% were either very familiar or somewhat familiar with Clark's testimony. I'm not sure that college students are a good gauge of public understanding.

[Another Bill C.]

8. I'll go along with that.

The testimony was mainly available to cable subscribers and during the day. The other interviews were at a time when most television viewers were watching some "reality" show to see who gets kicked off the asteroid this week.

An amazing number of potential voters just don't care.

[JaySherman]

9. I've tried mentioning it to my parents.

They're usually pretty up on what's going on. But they both said they've been too busy watch it, only catching snippets in the papers. I think it's the same for a lot of people. Too busy just trying to get by day-to-day. Doesn't exactly bode well for the future. I really think if people had any clue what was really going on, and knew anything about Kerry other than what the * ads tell them, we would win in a landslide. I've been trying my damndest to get through to people, but outside of my friends who are already politically active anyway, I'd just as soon be banging my head against a wall.