Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/18/2003 3:25:46 PM PDT by MadIvan
Christian Research has come up with some cheering news for Easter. When it asked people whether they believed that Christ rose from the dead, 47 per cent said that they did. Praise be! Thirty-six per cent said they didn’t.
But what of the 15 per cent of the population who mumbled “don’t know”? Don’t know? Sir, Madam, the question was not one of fact — whether Lima is the capital of Peru — it was one of instinct, of what you feel in the depths of your soul.
Of course none of us knows that Jesus rolled back that boulder and revealed Himself. If we did, it would no longer be the great Christian mystery, would it?
The question was whether in your own heart you have faith in the truth of that unknown. What the dithering 15 per cent are saying is that they don’t know what they think about not knowing.
Who are these feeble-minded people who, whatever the question, always answer “don’t know” in opinion polls? Do you think Labour is doing a good job? Don’t know. Do you suffer discrimination at work? Don’t know. How often do you have sex? Don’t know. Is it Saturday today? Don’t know.
They are the great unopinionated, the 16 per cent who don’t know if congestion charging is a good idea, the 15 per cent who don’t know if we should join the euro. They are doubtless the same people who cause queues at the delicatessen counter because they can’t make up their minds, or who put aside the menu in restaurants and say: “I’ll have what you’re having.”
How could there be, midway through the conflict in Iraq, with debate flooding the airwaves 24 hours a day, 14 per cent of the population who were still “undecided” over military action? To have not managed to form a strong opinion one way or the other when Iraqi children are being burnt alive and British soldiers are coming home in boxes is not just lazy, it is criminally irresponsible.
And the irony is that by doing nothing and committing to nothing, these great blancmanges of our society have become all-powerful. The floating voters, that spineless mass who huddle cravenly on the fence while the rest of us stick to our principles, end up being wooed, tickled and pursued by our politicians.
Now that the main political parties are so indistinct, it is Floating Voter who rules, while we the opinionated are taken for granted. During the last general election, depending on what poll you read, the number of undecideds fluctuated between 10 and 20 per cent and, like the problem child who can’t concentrate in class, got all the attention.
Let’s reflect on a Populus poll conducted for The Times last week. Asked which party they trusted most when it came to managing the economy, 15 per cent of the population “didn’t know”. Asked which they trusted most over public spending, 19 per cent didn’t know. Asked which they trusted most over joining the euro, 20 per cent didn’t know. Take heed. The numbers are growing.
Perhaps we are slowly becoming a nation of don’t knows, inert couch potatoes pleading to be told what to eat, what to watch on television, what to think. Often those who tick life’s don’t-know box assume self-importance, calling their lack of conviction “having an open mind”. When you question them closely, the reality often is though that they simply don’t care.
At school, children are taught that not knowing is stupid. When they grow up and join the electorate they find that if they say they don’t know, they become the Holy Grail of politics.
The clueless truly have inherited the Earth.
Regards, Ivan
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