Let's just start out by me explaining my political views and how well I am informed. I have to be truthful and say that I am not a very political nor am I an "Informed" citizen. I know this is crazy but after researching and doing a lot of reading, I have been enlightened and what I have read has been very interesting. "An informed citizenry will benefit from applying both creative thinking and critical thinking in solving the challenges of our society", at first I was like what the heck does this even mean? Well, I have informed myself and I must say I feel I will be able to vote Tuesday feeling more informed about the issues that concern this country. In a democracy, public misperceptions carry an enormous cost and I would hate to be one that contributed to this.
The main goal of citizenship education is to produce citizens who can make informed decisions on matters pertaining to the operation of government. Do you know that a very high percentage of citizens make their decisions based on appearance on television? I don't fall into that category although I may fall into the category above that. Because in the past I have based my decision on commercials. I never educated myself to learn the facts from the opinions or lies one might say. A lot of powerful groups and interests in the country try to manipulate public opinion and they are very good at it.
An essential element of critical thinking is learning how to ask questions that will uncover the information needed to make an informed decision. Many decisions that citizens make have direct impact on their day to day lives.
People who possess higher level of critical thinking skills are able to face society's moral dilemas with the confidence that they will be able to find answers that will solve the problem.
Let's go back to how people decide who to vote for. Several recent studies indicate that candidates who simply look more capable or attractive are more likely to win