In a June 5 essay for the online magazine Salon entitled “Can liberals cure stupidity?“, Tom Schaller, associate professor of political science, discussed one of the major obstacles for the left in today’s political climate: the general public’s overall lack of knowledge regarding a number of the most controversial issues we face.

From what areas should be cut in the federal budget to the size of the gay community in the country, Schaller cataloged a number of instances in which the American people have misunderstood important fiscal, governmental, and social matters, a fact that Shaller believes demonstrates that, “[g]iven that the public believes they are less dependent on a government that is actually less wasteful than they believe it to be, and that what the public doesn’t know may or may not hurt them, this much is clear: Their ignorance surely makes political life much harder for liberals.”