Elites want ignorant Americans. Easier to manipulate and to make them wards of the state (Rat voters).
"What good fortune for leaders, that the people do not think."
- Adolf Hitler
That may be true but I dont believe that it is at the root of why the American public at large is ignorant of their countries government.
Karl Marx said that Religion is the opiate of the people
Well today we have Entertainment is the crack cocaine of the people.
Today whether it is pro-sports, sitcoms or computer games the public has a cornucopia of cheap ever available entertainment to occupy their underdeveloped minds.
It isnt that the Elite of our nation want to keep the people ignorant of what the government is doing it is that the people find the activities of government boring when there is a plethora of easy to understand entertainment easily accessible to their TV, computer or local arena.
Prior to the advent of radio the general public was engaged by politics because it was one of the main topics of conversation at the local tavern. Since then however with more and more homes having access to telemedia and thereby access to cheap entertainment, even in public gatherings the topic of conversation is most likely to some topic other than politics.
In todays society many consider the subject of politics to be taboo because it has the potential to be the impetus to a passionate argument rather than a pleasant discussion. Where religion used to occupy this space in the past today politics is now the forbidden subject in polite society.
While the Liberal Left seems to work tirelessly to dumb down the masses I dont think ignorance of who occupies the 9 seats on the Supreme Court is a major hurdle for them, I think the general public has consciously decided to ignore these facts on their own.