Comment on New Study: 54% of American Adults Read Below 6th Grade-Levels

• Primarily0617@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  This just sounds like weird elitism. What correlation is there between voting and reading at a high level?

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  • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    I would very much like my fellow voters to be able to read and understand things before making a decision.

    In Athens they gave political offices away in a lottery. (Slaves and women excepted, of course.) This meant that because the stupidest person in the city could randomly get the highest office, they had a reason to make sure everybody was at least a little competent.

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    • Primarily0617@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      What exactly would you like them to read and understand that requires a reading level above 6th grade level?

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      • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Proposed and actual legislation. Complex articles about the implications of policy decisions. Scientific and medical articles. Anything that can produce an informed electorate is what they should be able to read, and most of that is well above a sixth grade level.

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      • CubbyTustard@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        [deleted]

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  • Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    At least where I live in the US, voters are asked to vote on city or state ballot proposals. These proposals appear on the ballot in a wall of text. They are also usually available online before election day for interested voters to read. These can be very complicated to parse - not only the language and technical terms in the text, but the policy itself and how it might affect different groups of stakeholders in the community and different existing policies and competing proposals. A voter might need to read a lot of news articles and opinion pieces to get the lay of the land on a particular issue. I think having a higher than sixth grade reading level would be more than helpful in understanding an issue and related ballot proposals.

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  • MindSkipperBro12@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Honestly, we do need some elites to guide us retarded Americans to a higher plane so I’m fine with that.

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