Jeff Davis Parish.com
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Jeff
Davis Parish's Literacy Disability
Usually after every election there is always someone that makes a comment that my discussion forum, Mouthin’ Off, or the use of the internet for campaigning despite the reach and the traffic volume is ineffective in changing the outcome of elections.
My usual response is that “that goes without saying”. There are some very specific reasons why.
To assume that a discussion forum like Mouthin Off or a political website can effect the outcome of an election in Louisiana is ludicrous. To assume so has to assume the majority of it’s citizens, it’s voters are proficient on a computer and interact with discussions.
Louisiana has a literacy rate of 28% at level 1 and 61% at level 1 and 2. The mean literacy proficiency score is 254. What this means is that 28% of Louisiana is functionally illiterate. Then there is 61% at grade 11. You must score a 256+ to be in Level 3 or Grade 13+.
Mouthin Off has a tremendous volume of traffic but few participants. I have suspected for years the reason is a simple literacy issue. As the literacy scores for the state indicate, you would not expect the same people who cannot write out a check, fill out an application or create a resume to participate in an internet discussion. I don’t see that happening any time soon. It is what it is.
Combined with the fact that there is a huge segment of society in Louisiana that is computer illiterate and the power of the Internet for everyday use is decades away. The reality of voting on-line and other uses of the internet is hampered by Louisiana’s literacy rate. In fact, you could easily come to the conclusion that literacy is the culprit behind many of Louisiana’s woe’s.
When you look at Jeff Davis Parish, the literacy rate is 31%, 3% above (worse) the state average. We have 72% at level 1&2. The mean literacy score is 237 placing 72% of the population with a literacy level of Grade 9. This may also provide a clue as to why Jeff Davis Parish cannot attract manufacturing companies. Looking at the literacy rate by city, Jennings mean literacy score is 234, even worse than the average for the parish. The literacy rate of 34% at level 1 and 75% at level 1&2, reflecting a literacy level at Grade 8.
When you look at literacy in Louisiana, and especially Jeff Davis Parish/Jennings you see an appalling picture compared to the rest of the nation. On the upside, we beat Mississippi for literacy.
This “literacy disability” that permeates
through our state and is reflected in the way we elect our politicians and is no
wonder why our state is in the shape that it’s in. You can spend a lot of money
on print ads, and cover the internet with facts and figures and undeniable
truths, but you will be fighting against literacy. You will be targeting a group
that will never see it and may not be able to make heads or tails of it when
they do. In Jeff Davis Parish you would have a hard time swaying 61% of the
population with printed material, especially if it is layed out in a more than
simple format.
Any time a candidate throws out facts and figures, and all the truths that
he/she can get their hands on, it does not pay to use it. This requires voters
to sift through data, to analyze, and to absorb the data and make a decision or
change their decision based on data. It's much easier to accuse a candidate of
"mudslinging" or negative campaigning. No analyses is required for that claim.
What all this means is that a large segment of the Louisiana population will not
spend a great deal of time reading or learning about candidates, what they have
done, positive or negative or spend a great deal of time learning about the
political process. They vote based on very simple things. Many times it’s
popularity. As long as you’re a democrat and a good ole’ boy, you have got
Louisiana’s literacy rate on your side.
In several races in this election cycle I noticed that a few good ole’ boy incumbents lost their seats to other good ole’ boys that ended up in a run-off. When you have a couple of good ole’ boys that enter a race against another good ole’ boy, the vote will split, ousting the incumbent good ole’ boy. That’s Louisiana politics and Louisiana’s literacy rate driving the election process. Seasoned politicians are well aware of how the literacy rate plays into the election and they work it to their advantage.
So if your one of those Louisiana Netizen’s
that think that the internet is a useful tool to influence a broad cross-section
of society, you are overlooking Louisiana’s literacy disability factor. Your
only getting information to 28% of the population. No candidate ever uses
literacy as a springboard in their campaign. For good reason. Literacy is a real
problem in our state and it needs to be addressed, otherwise change is not
possible.
If you have made it to the bottom of this article, Congratulations you are
probably in
the Level 3 group.
Literacy Source: US Census Bureau