NFI voting

The Australian Prime Minister was travelling (with attendant media) on a train -  possibly in an effort to promote the wonderful (?) public transport system. When the train stopped at a station, a middle-aged woman entered the compartment and was greeted by a cheesy smile from our number one politician.
Looking blankly at him, she asked, “Who are you?”
The PM uttered something about being a train employee and the woman walked off. (Maybe she thought he looked slightly familiar?)
 
There’s an election coming soon – or not so soon – for Australians. Did you know?
Well, of course you did!
Who are the main contenders?
 
Watching a news/current affairs show on TV last night, we saw a reporter go ‘out and about’ with large photographs of the three (yes, THREE) major party leaders.
The reporter showed the photos, one at a time, to random pedestrians as they came by.
“Who is this?” he asked, as he held out a photo of our Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
“Don’t know” was one reply.
“Not sure” was another.
“I think he’s a politician”. Another offered.
Then (phew!) a youngish man paused and said, “Is that our Prime Minister?”
 
As for the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, there was almost total NON recognition.
 
But the award (some award!) goes to our Greens party leader, Richard Di Natale, as not one person showed even a glimmer of recognition.
 
Hopefully (HOPEFULLY) this reporter deleted the replies of those who DID know who the politicians in the photos were.
It was certainly a depressing spectacle to watch.

Which brings me to compulsory voting: While many people think to make voting compulsory is the best and only way to conduct a poll, I wonder if it is not better to leave the voting to the people who have at least given some thought to their choice. That is, voters who have listened, read and understood what each party stands for and have made a conscious decision to support the political party that will do (hopefully!) the best for our country.
 
I seriously wonder about our citizens who cannot recognise Australia’s Prime Minister – and the Opposition Leader  - and the Greens party leader.
Do they never read a newspaper? Do they not watch TV news reports? Do they avoid discussing current affairs with friends, neighbours, family members?
Really?
 
Later on the same (TV viewing) night, I watched a comedian (Judith Lucy) tell some funny tales. At one stage she presented a turnip. Yep, a turnip…and asked members of the audience to identify it. The first two people had no idea. Two more people suggested it was a swede – (you know, that old-fashioned orange coloured turnip look-alike).
Others in the audience finally correctly identified it.
 
The comedian then went on to relay some information from a survey she had recently read.  Apparently, 67% of people can’t recognise a turnip when shown one.
40% cannot recognise a leek and 20 % are unable to name a pumpkin! (With one respondent suggesting it was a type of onion -  and another thinking a pumpkin was a cumquat).
 
So, maybe, just maybe there’s more to recognition than meets the eye (excuse the pun!) if people cannot identify a pumpkin, to not recognise our current Prime Minister is maybe nothing to worry about.
But I do. (Worry, that is).
 
What sort of ‘blindness’ would you call it?