By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
While collecting signatures at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on Friday, I wondered why do so many people appear not to be interested in hearing the unpleasant truths, but they will gladly accept the comforting lies.
My fellow circulator told me that it is “rational ignorance”. I had to freely admit that the older I get the less I know. I had never even heard of the term “rational ignorance”, but set out to educate myself.
What is Rational Ignorance?
Rational ignorance is the decision to refrain from acquiring knowledge when the costs of obtaining free information, such as time and effort, are perceived to outweigh the potential benefits of that information.
This concept, known as the rational ignorance effect and rooted in public choice theory, helps explain why individuals may choose to remain uninformed about political issues or complex topics.
Since the impact of one person’s decision is often minimal, the acquisition of detailed information can seem counterproductive. While rational ignorance can sometimes serve as an efficient strategy, it can also lead to negative collective outcomes, such as uninformed voting in democracies.
In other words, most people will choose to not educate themselves on a particular topic or issue until they are directly negatively impacted. (They have to hit bottom.)
However, that does not explain why some people can recite the statistics, with great details, of their favorite sports team, but explaining the role of the three branches of our government is foreign to them. It appears that supporting a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian is more in line with supporting their favorite sports team rather than deciding which politician understands the role of government and will not let the government grow in excess of the private sector’s ability to pay for the services.
This “Watchman on the Wall” sees a disturbing trend of citizens and politicians, regardless of political party, wanting bigger government and accepting socialism and communism. (See videos at the end of this article)
For me, the difference between socialism and communism is “the size of the gun”. How does communism work? Answer: “One step at a time”. We see a chipping away of our fundamental freedom of speech in Ohio, (see the recent Rooster trial) and we do not see any politicians pushing back to protect the God given rights of citizens – except one…
I have become convinced that “rational ignorance” is real, and is, unfortunately, a major factor in Ohio and in our nation.
The movement to abolish Ohio property taxes is more than a dollar and cents issue. It is a freedom and liberty issue because private property ownership is the foundation of our freedom and liberty. Our constitutional republic gives us the inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Ohioans have a very clear choice. Elect Vivek Ramaswamy as Governor and sign the petition to allow citizens to vote to abolish Ohio property taxes. Both actions will retain their freedoms, and not allow socialism and communism to reign supreme in Ohio. If you do neither, you are following your “rational ignorance” and consigning future generations to live under communist rule.
Listen and learn from State Representative Dan Troy discuss Ohio’s public school funding:
Here is Senator Comrade “He who shall not be named” declaring war on the citizens of Ohio.
Categories: Community Activism, State of Ohio, Uncategorized