Is Pondering Dead?

I wonder how much time the average person spends pondering something abstract or about things in the news? I am sure many people pondering when or what car too buy and other trivialities but what about someone who wants to vote. Do they stop and think about the issues or do they just listen to what the media is saying and the medias line of reasoning becomes their own? Now that's a scary thought, a society of people getting their reasoning from one source without questioning it.

I don't believe a lot of people ponder abstract things since there is almost always a reluctance to discuss these matters. If one thinks about something they usually want to express their thoughts and so I must conclude most people don't think about these things. For instance Religion. If someone spent time pondering aspects of their religion wouldn't they be willing to discuss it? Same with politics, but in our society these are the two major taboos to talk about!

When I see how badly the media can distort information (such as Rev. Al Sharpton's speech at the Democratic National Convention being simply called a rant with no inquiry as to what he said, but an observation that his teleprompter didn't move since he didn't use his prepared speech!! Nice going CNN, oops your colors are showing!) and here people simply regurgitating the line of reasoning, especially when it's irrational such as missile defense, it scares the Dickens out of me. What kind of society do we live in when people stop thinking for themselves and a freethinker is viewed as a trouble maker?