Jakey
If you are a journo, what were these other forums you canvassed for opinion? Are we looking at another piece of idiotic journalistic reporting where interviews with ill-informed and ill-educated nit-wits outside Poundland that are interviewed about the balance-of-payments?
To balance your argument, you need to provide links to these other forums so that we can see what others are saying.
Now here's the really controversial piece from my side regarding opinions and democracy; should you be able to hold an opinion and be able to vote on something that you cannot demonstrably show any knowledge of? A good example is the Scottish vote, there are a lot of people North of the Border that have no idea what such a vote would do. Even if the issues were spelt out in black and white, some of them would still not understand. As long as they get their 16-pack of Tennants, 100x fags and Scottish Premiership on TV, they really don't put much more effort into needing to understand things. Other examples in the UK are: The Euro Referendum, the Libor "scandal", public sector pensions, the NHS, etc... The real scandle is the media, their power to manipulate the ill-educated masses and their lack of moral compass - anything will be said that will shift papers!
I can see a point fast approaching, when the ill-informed majority will far outweigh the educated minority - in fact Nu-Labours dumbing down of society for 13+ years following Major's policy of turning into the UK into a bunch of "shop keepers" has done irreperable damage IMHO. Your inability to listen to people close to the field of your research is case in point, where it looks like you will use an ill-informed majority to "spin" the answer that you want in order to sell copy of a grotty little article.
But, hey, I guess that's democracy for you; it works if the populace is educated and falls down if not.
I gave up reading newspapers several years ago when exposed to the real-world in an all-seeing post close to uncluttered intelligence - at that point I was almost floored by the realisation that barely 20% in the daily newspapers and journals is actually true!
LJ