Judging from the arguments on clipmarks surrounding such controversial topics as stem cell research or abortion it is readily apparent that Americans generally simply don't know what they're talking about.

And the science writers aren't helping the situation either.

two kinds of people: data-driven and driven by gut instinct. people who study these things tell us the two groups don't get along at all, don't trust each other's decisions, etc. and it's almost impossible to make them cooperate (of course, they're scientists, can't trust them)
we live in a data-driven world these days, but half our population has come out of the educational experience and the media barrage having given up on data and navigating by gut. it's one thing to trust your instinct in the job you've been doing for 20 years. it's quite another in a highly technical field that your only experience with is reading some BS polemic from some think tank funded by somebody with a big axe to grind.

Makes one wonder how literate we U.S.ers really are. Really, there's been plenty of factual articles regarding stem-cell research, even in mainstream mags (like Time and Newsweek.. The most serious difficulty is the fact that most people here shut their minds off at the age of 16 or so because they thought maturity meant that one no longer needs curiosity. Also, our society doesn't exactly reward "inqiring minds".