Thats it, enough tip toeing...I will say it.

[Blarch]

We live in a nation of idiots.

70% believe Saddam was behind 9-11

26% believe Obama is a muslim , how the fuck did 26% of the people miss the 'pastor problem' ? ..It couldn't be avoided.

To be completely honest...I respect Anne Coulter and Sean Hannity more than I do the average American. Every view they have might be horse shit ...but at least they care, at least they care enough to pay attention to politics and take a position.

I see a apathetic population that is to busy texting on their Iphones and keeping score of Survivor that they don't even notice that Rome is burning.

As I look back I realize that our problem isn't corrupt leaders. It's not Nixons fault ...Reagans, or either of the Bushs. Those guys are gone and almost gone ...but what remains behind is much worse.

The idiots who brought us those people. The same idiots who will bring us our next 'bush or reagan'

And while at I'm at it (hits bong) ...fuck it. One of our states can be classified as the most racist, I don't know what or where ..but if we are gonna have 24 hour cable news analyzing this election, then we need to address this large voting block called racists. They exist everywhere ...I see them everyday at work..on the road, at the store...But nobody can talk about them ?

It's healthy to confront reality, don't turn away...stand right in front of it ...and accept that we live in a nation that hasn't worked through it's original sin of slavery.

The unfortunate truth ..a large portion of our nation are apathetic racist idiots.

Sorry for this rant ..but I am sick of the tip toeing. It almost seemed like the MSM substituted the word 'working class whites' for racist, am I wrong ?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. For more on the racist fucks in our midst...

Go here: http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/

David and Sara are the best at what they do.

[Skittles]

2. I'll give you another sample of idiocy

a coworker had that "get 'er done" piece of shit confederate flag thing on his cube wall - I asked him, hey, don't you think that confederate flag is offensive - don't you think it's inappropriate? The guy peered at it closely and said, "OMG it IS a confederate flag - I didn't even notice - I just like the slogan." He ended up taking it down. :o

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. A psychologist friend told me once...

That he could get a lot farther with folks if he didn't have to spend his whole time teaching them basic cognitive skills. He told me that he had to do that with all but a small handful of his clients.

[Skittles]

11. whoa - that is food for thought

for example, it's hard to debate my gay neighbor on the presidential race when he is telling me Obama was born "Barry" but changed his name to Barack in honor of his Muslim roots :o

[MadMaddie]

19. That is really sad...

[Obamarama]

61. "The Gays" aren't born geniuses, ya know.

We have to work damned HARD to achieve all that ind-depth knowledge :sarcasm:

One of my gay aquaintances/co-workers actually said to me prior to the 2000 election (and I'm paraphrasing): "Now I know that Gore is supposed to be the good guy and we're supposed to vote for him, but I'm not really sure why."

Needless to say, this aquaintance never progressed to being cultivated as a friend.

[MedleyMisty]

88. What are the basic cognitive skills he has to teach them?

I want to make sure that I have them. :)

[yardwork]

43. LOL! How is that person able to breathe? An invertebrate has a larger brain.

[lynettebro440]

3. I was feeling the exact same way

hits bong....and nobody seemed to be feeling the same way. People at work call me miss doom because I come in there and let them know reality. I work in a place where we are effected by people losing money. But they can talk about reality tv like it is reality. I'm the oldest in my area and I just give them wisdom and truth. I won't stand for anymore of this retardation. I've watched this for too long and it's bordering on ridiculous. Thanks for the rant...and keep on keeping on....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I know what you mean

I belong to a yahoo group and somehow the discussion was a woman's right to vote. One poster said she'd never voted, nor did she intend to--but that she cherished her "freedoms" and felt most would call her a loyal, steadfast American. My only comment was, "After the passage of the FISA bill, you still think you have freedom of speech?" Bet she votes back and says "FISA what?"

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

26. "FISA what?"

Fisa Minnelli?

:shrug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

52. I left that online group

because the idiots there kept going on and on about how they loved their freedoms and everything was hunky dory with their rights, even though all politicians suck. They revel in their ignorance. And attack me for saying that voting and stuff like that is important.

[Karenina]

74. How 'bout the Muslim woman denied a French pass, eh?

[SmileyRose]

6. public school

and yes, I know I am going to flamed up the yingyang - but they've all but destroyed the educational system in this country. When you teach generation after generation to memorize for the test instead of thinking critically then, IMHO this is what you end up with.

[loveable liberal]

9. As well you should.

Were there private schools near us that didnt require indoctrination into the cult of jesus christ, I would consider it. (i happen to follow the mans teachings myself). A certain element of the population likes to blame the victim in the public school debate.

Since we dont fund public education properly we should not be surprised by the results.

[SmileyRose]

14. Can't blame the students

I have a brother who was all wide eyed and curious, loved books. His first grade teacher was abusive. I mean really abusive to the boys. Complaining parents only meant more abuse on the kid - school admin refused to act for more than 12 years. She had "tenure". This was 45 years ago. My brother, without even meaning to, taught his children that education is a waste of time. Lord knows my parents, who could barely keep us fed let alone pay for private school, tried to combat the abuse at school. But they had him a 2 days a week and she had him 5.

Even short of abusive teachers, and in those days there seemed to be plenty. How many smart kids are just never challenged and eventually give up because we don't want to leave the slower kids behind? How many grew into adults who just accepted a place as average because they had no encouragement ever to be stellar?

Public school has SO much potential to pull people from the bottom into the middle and top. Just seems like somewhere along the line we decided to let the elite destroy whatever promise there was.

[loveable liberal]

37. Well I'm sorry for your brothers experience but....

He is surely not the litmus test you use for all public education, is he? Both my sons attend a wonderful school that is challenging if not over crowded. It's not one teachers fault either. Children, regardless of where they attend, get out of education what they put into it. Education is not sending you kid off to get 'learned' for 8 hours day then quit. Parents are equally responsible to remain active in their childs education. I make sure to spend at least two hours a week in class not only giving my children support but also their teacher.

I trust the private sector with education about as much as I trust them with our health care (I dont trust them is my point)

Republicans are doing what they have done with everything else, they are starving public agencies and then pointing to how badly they perform. It is a lie and it is cowardice.

[SmileyRose]

40. I'm glad you can be in class every week.

I agree with you completely that kids who are fortunate enough to have parents who have time and inclination to motivate their children often do much better in public school than the kids with parents who each work several jobs or just do not value education. I have no doubt there is a wide gulf between public education in an area where one parent has enough free time during the day to be at school and areas where most families have single moms or even both parents physically at work with relatively low paying jobs 80 plus hours a week.

I totally agree with you that public schools need more support and funding - as do lower income parents - so they can have the option to be at home enough hours a day to motivate the kids. And you are right, the Republican have starved public education and plan to do more of the same - I guess it's easier to get people who will work for less than their fathers made that way.

[raccoon]

56. Abusive teachers are nothing new. I graduated high school in the later 1960's

and there were enough of them around them. When I was in elementary school, we had two male teachers. They were both pedophiles. To my mother's eternal credit, she among other parents were instrumental in getting his ass fired. His teaching certificate should have been yanked.

"How many smart kids are just never challenged and eventually give up because we don't want to leave the slower kids behind?"

Lots, and this happened in the past a lot too. I was one of those kids.

"How many grew into adults who just accepted a place as average because they had no encouragement ever to be stellar?"

Same as the answer to the above.

[Patchuli]

21. Who has "all but destroyed the educational system?"

You don't think it's the schools' at fault, do you? It is the idiot government who forces teachers to teach for tests, not for learning. I'm probably wrong and misunderstood but I thought I'd mention that just in case...

[SmileyRose]

22. I agree

completely.

[Patchuli]

39. Welcome to DU by the way!

:hi:

[Lorien]

46. I agree. I was fortunate and went to a very liberal "hippie" private school

and always noticed the incredible uniformity of thought among public school students. Whenever we gave an answer in our school, our teacher would ask "and why to you think that is"? Simple memorization would never suffice; critical thinking was encouraged. Now memorization is ALL kids get because of the disastrous "no child lefty behind" act.

[THX1138]

7. How?

Easy. They aren't watching MSNBC, or CNN or Fox for that matter, they are watching the mindless tripe on one of the other 147 channels available to them. When the news comes on they change the channel. They don't read newspapers and the only time when they read Time or Newsweek is when they are stuck in a waiting room somewhere, and even then that's only if Good Housekeeping or SI isn't available. I know and work with many of these people. But they hear a soundbite or get a wingnut email from their sister-in-law and it becomes truth and fact in their mind. Are they stupid? Not particularly, they just don't give a shit about anything outside of their own lives. It's frustrating, but I don't see it changing anytime soon.

[paparush]

8. Just to keep things fair and balanced..

I'll point out that there are plenty of beer-swilling, Faux News-watching, Rush-Listening dumbass motherfuckers who make up the 70% and the 26% who are not southern and have no connection to the Confederate flag.

As a lifelong southerner, I'm compelled to point out the shortcomings of non-southerners. :-)

[OhioBlue]

28. true...

but some of them still have a confederate flag in their back window and wear a hat that says "git er done".....

[raccoon]

57. Thanks.

"As a lifelong southerner, I'm compelled to point out the shortcomings of non-southerners. "

Me too. :-) :hi: Well, somebody has to do it!

[SoCalDem]

10. "blue collar workers".."hardworking Americans", "working class".. "low-information voters"

all "sanitized" euphemisms for RACIST..

[SmileyRose]

15. As a blue collar, working class, hardworking American

that is also very new here, I'm trying really hard not to knee jerk - so I have to ask. Where on earth did you get the idea that blue collar workers are all racists? (please tell me I missed the sarcasm)

[SoCalDem]

16. The sarcasm was implied.. The MEDIA used these euphemisms

in REAL life, MOST of us, regardless of color, are ALL of those things...but our media, in its infinite wisdom, chose those phrases every time there was a reason why people would not vote for Obama.. They were too "scared" to say what the real reason was..

[SmileyRose]

17. Thank you

Now see. I'm glad I asked instead of knee jerking! :)

[marmar]

12. Dumber than a box of hollow marbles, some of them.....

:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

13. And also I don't buy into the so called youth vote as being big..

They have never came out in large numbers.

[Patchuli]

38. Let's just hope McSame

is dumb enough to mention the 'D' word (draft.) We would see youth voters like never before!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

18. Rethink your statement

about "respecting" Coulter and Hannity. You're too smart and too decent to offer such an honor to scum such as these.

There are so many people in our history who were certain of their positions - George W. Bush, Franco, Idi Amin, Hitler, you know the gang. Respect should be meted out very carefully, and won with great effort. Simply staking out a position and bleating about it does not, in my world, anyway, merit respect.

[BlueJac]

20. I would use the words ignorant citizens...........

meaning unknowing of the facts.

[BrklynLiberal]

31. Sadly, as Janeane Garafolo would say..it is "WILLFUL ignorance"

They are proud of their ignorance...!

[bdamomma]

64. I will never forget this saying

"Ignorance will be mankinds downfall" how true.

[Canuckistanian]

23. "Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos. ..."

And I take that line to be the epitome of an average American's ethics.

It's the "If it don't affect me, I don't give a shit" mentality.

[Missy Vixen]

24. Two young men died in a truck rollover a block from our home

three years ago, I believe. We live thirty miles east of Seattle, one of the most liberal and well-educated cities in the United States. What did the families choose to mark the roadside memorial with? A confederate flag.

When the families were asked to remove the flag on multiple occasions and by law enforcement, they pitched the hissy fit to end all hissy fits, up to and including letters to the local paper. In other words, a racist symbol marking the place where their loved ones died was their RIGHT.

The best part of this story? One of the less-intelligent left an unattended candle burning one night a few months later. The memorial burned, as did most of the pasture surrounding it. Good thing the house on the property didn't burn, too.

The flag's still out there. It's too charred to make out what it was now.

Julie

[Mythsaje]

73. Where was this, exactly? I don't think I ever noticed it. n/t

[Missy Vixen]

84. Duvall, on Big Rock Road

It was the first motor vehicle fatalities in Duvall in twenty years.

Julie

[Mythsaje]

85. Ahh... SE of Seattle. That explains it.

I don't often get out that way.

[LiberalEsto]

25. My mom told me Americans were stupid when I was 4

This must have been right after Eisenhower defeated Stevenson in '56.
And as we all know, Mom is always right.

[Michigan-Arizona]

45. Father know's best

As far back as I can remember my dad alway's swore you could sell american's shit on a stick.

[exothermic]

71. And apostrophes too!

:D

[bonito]

27. Alota work. I know. n/t

[Kansas Wyatt]

29. Well Liberals just had to insist on all the WARNING LABELS to protect them.

Instead of dying off for being stupid, they were spared and have grown in masses.

[BrklynLiberal]

32. ...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[dysfunctional press]

30. don't forget about the reportedly 90% or so who believe in a supernatural supreme being...

of some type or some all-encompassing other-worldly 'force' of another.

[riverdale]

35. Thank you

That always seems to be the one subject that cannot be broached. How stupid are we as a country, in that no one can get elected to any office without believing in (the accepted version of) a magical invisible ruler of the universe?

[Nevernose]

42. So-called "morality" has infected so many things

Teaching basic biology (sex ed, evolution), abortion, birth control. Foreign affairs (all that rapture nonsense invented in the 1880s), climate science, the death penalty.

Hell, we had SLAVES in America longer than we've even been a country, thanks to first century fiction.

[Indenturedebtor]

72. I'm not a huge fan of first century fiction but I don't think that you can peg slavery to it

Matter of fact religious conviction had a lot to do with abolishing slavery.

That said it's causing us a hell of a lot of trouble today!

[Blarch]

75. We still have slaves today...

The only difference is that we don't have to look them in the face. They live overseas and work in sweatshops...but make no mistake, our lifestyles are built upon their backs.

[Indenturedebtor]

90. That's true :( n/t

[spoony]

81. So, will you be voting for our stupid, superstitious candidate this November?

[dysfunctional press]

86. why do you think he's "stupid"...?

:shrug:

personally, i find him to be on the fairly intelligent side.
although i will grant you the superstitious part...

and it remains to be seen as to whether or not i'll be voting for anyone for potus come november.

[spoony]

87. OP: "We live in a nation of idiots" You: "don't forget about the..

reportedly 90% or so who believe in a supernatural supreme being of some type or some all-encompassing other-worldly 'force' of another."

Presumably, Obama falls into the percentage you tell the OP not to forget in tallying up the idiots in this country. I don't understand the cognitive dissonance of people here who say one on hand that religious people are stupid, insane, scary, etc. but (most) will be voting for a person that is in the same category. At least you aren't committed to doing so, so you have an out there. For the others I've caught doing this, though, there isn't much wiggle room.

[dysfunctional press]

89. there's never been a candidate that 100% of the population agrees with 100% of the time...

so people generally have to(well...they don't "have to") vote for the candidate that most closely aligns to their own stance on issues. even if they consider the person to be "stupid" or "an idiot" in some respects, they may still choose to vote for them because they feel that the other candidate(and let's face it- there are really only 2 realistic choices in our presidential contests) is even worse-

unfortunately, because so many slack-jawed yokels people in this country are deluded into believing in an omnipotent deity, there's not much hope for an admitted atheist to get very far politically in most of the country. yet. and until that happens, IF it ever happens, many of us will just have to decide for ourselves which candidate we find to be the best overall on the issues, and just have to accept their idiocy in regard to the supernatural as part of the overall package.

[DailyGrind51]

33. It's not only racism, it's plain stupidity!

I know a chemist who actually believes the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma was nuked. His brother, an MBA CPA, believes that O.J. was framed from the get-go! People are gullible and believe their predispositions. Do you remember the rumor about Ronald Wilson Reagan being the Anti-Christ, because his three names each had six letters, being the reason he only used his middle initial? What about the one concerning Elvis and Marilyn Monroe both being alive and living as an old married couple on a farm in Terra Haute? People are just fucking stupid! :silly:

[DCKit]

47. O.J. WAS framed... Not that he didn't do it.

Those magical gloves (and other evidence) were disappearing and re-appearing all over the place. They should have spent the time doing a real investigation or some money to hire a real magician to plant the evidence. Fucking amateurs.

O.J.'d have been convicted if the police were honest and hard-working instead of racist, lazy and corrupt. They only succeeded in pissing off the jury to a point where they couldn't accept, on faith, anything they were presented with.

Can you blame them?

[DailyGrind51]

55. The late Johnny Cochran omitted the next line from his famous poem, too!

"But, if you acquit, you're full of shit!";-)

[Common Sense Party]

34. This should be our campaign slogan: "Vote Democratic, you racist idiots!"

We'll win lots of hearts and minds.

[SmileyRose]

41. I am in love with "Beaker"

My all time fav is when he copied himself and scared the everloving bejebus out of Dr. Honeydew.

:)

I have not thought of that for years and am going through a very hard time. Your avatar will stick with me for days......thank you so much.

[pampango]

48. Really. The "sheeple" posts are starting early this election.

Conservatives try to sell the idea that liberals think Americans are stupid and the government has to run their lives for them, since they are too dumb to run their own. I waste my time arguing that it is conservatives that treat people like they are stupid, then I read an OP like this one.

Maybe the stupidity of most citizens is one thing that real liberals and real conservatives can agree on. (So much for the whole "democracy" idea. The common person is just too dumb to have a say in running a country.)

[spoony]

82. Well put. n/t

[Raksha]

78. It wouldn't win many votes, but at least it would be honest.

Maybe it should be expanded a little bit, something like this: "Vote Democratic, you racist idiots! The Republicans have been using your racism, homophobia and all your other prejudices to rob us blind for years. And you morons keep falling for it, over and over again...and now you wonder why we're in a recession?"

In other words...WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!

[AmyCamus]

36. "We live in a nation of idiots."

"Don't wanna be an American idiot!"
Greenday.

[propel]

44. I agree

It seems like the whole country has it's highest brain power exercised during Entertainment Tonight.

[hootinholler]

50. Welcome to DU!

Psst, I think you might mean exorcised. If ET is mind exercise, then we're really in trouble!

;)

-Hoot

[hfojvt]

49. you've demonstrated that there are some idiots in this country

You respect Anne Coulter and Sean Hannity more than the average American? Are they not the ones spewing out the putrid sludge that makes so many average people misinformed?

There is also a difference between stupidity, ignorance and gullibility.

You say that you see racists every day and everywhere. How do you know they are racists? Do you have some sort of bigotdar?

Tiptoeing is bound to work better than the slogan "you're an ignorant idiot, please vote for our guy". It's better to keep silent and let them think you are an idiot ...

[hootinholler]

51. Well there is this...

Right here.

-Hoot

[spanone]

53. NO we live in a country with a lying president and a complicit media imho

[bdamomma]

54. I agree with your comment.

if the media presented the truth to the American people instead of being cowards and worrying about their jobs this whole situation would be alot different, we would be a more informed society instead of such morons (excluding DU'ers). The media is an accomplice to this regime, and they should also be convicted for dispelling incorrect and not factual information to the people. Our media is crap.

[Cosmocat]

59. Yep ... I refuse to knock the PEOPLE of this country ...

I know FAR too many decent, honorable and hard working people ...

IMO, that the media is SO in the bag with the right wing is the root cause ... It tips the scale so much stronger in the direction of corporate interests ...

As for the OP ... Give Hannity and Coulter credit ??? Are you out of your freakin mind ??? Hannity and Coulter don't "CARE" ... They are freakin opportunists, people who turn a GOOD buck by spewing crape that both divides us as country AND promotes an agenda that makes us a much lesser country ... They KNOW better, they really do ... But, they know they have built in market to spew their nonsense and make a living off it ...

Respect ??? They SHOULD be tried and hung as traitors ...

[bdamomma]

63. we are all being played.

for fools, when are we going to change that perception and let it ricochet them in the a$$.

[raccoon]

58. Right on! I'm surprised the thread went on for so long before somebody said that.

There are lots of people who are wilfully ignorant. And the MSM helps a lot to misinform people, such as going along with the Bush admin's implying six ways from Sunday that Iraq was responsible for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

[IDemo]

60. It's not just that there are a lot of "Low Information" Voters

It's that almost all of them are fiercely proud of their low brain usage and will cling to it with the tenacity of a pit bull. They aren't good candidates for attempts at education on political issues, preferring to think that the highest expression of political involvement anyone needs to offer is waving a 3" x 5" American flag over one's head while listening to Toby Keith music.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

62. its people like ann coulter and sean hannity who keep the american public stupid

by simplifying everything to bare bones, where no one has to do any analytical thinking of their own.

answers to any complex question are either black or white, good or evil, left or right, american or unpatriotic.

lack of complex thinking makes people stupid.

[Brewman_Jax]

65. Can't argue that

another affluent (meaning mostly white and well off) section in the northern part of metro Atlanta has voted for incorporation because their tax money is being spent on "those people" in the south end of the county. I resent the implication since I am one of "those people" and the pandering was all emotion, no facts or logic. The last time I checked, taxes are the price paid for a civilized society; also, "those people" pay taxes, too, and, until recently, "those people" had to pay taxes and got little or nothing in return. Notice there's no mention of giving "those people" back their money spent on the north end of the county for services. Not to mention, the other newly incorporated cities are paying MORE in taxes, which makes no sense in a tax-adverse society. Hell, the main reason they incorporated in the first place was to AVOID paying taxes!

Don't forget that a big block of idiots voted for Bush* because "he's someone I could have a beer with."

Yes, this is a nation of idiots.

[bdamomma]

66. kick

[windoe]

67. I do not believe most Americans are stupid,

but I do believe they get all the exposure. I believe that the silent majority, the ones that are good people, working so hard they don't have time to think things through, make up the majority of the population. Maybe it's 51%, maybe 60% or more, but I strongly think that most people are not idiots.

Ignorant people make the news, they stand out in a crowd since they are more visible. Ignorance is not due to stupidity, it is due to lack of information, exhaustion, or mental laziness. I believe these ignorant people can be made to see what is going on in the country if people reach out to them somehow. Most people respond to being treated with respect, humor and humility.

The ones that are the most stubborn and brainwashed are not worth arguing with, it is a waste of time and emotion.

[BrklynLiberal]

68. Mental laziness = willful ignorance. Often it is accompanied by incredible stubborness.

[NNN0LHI]

69. Anne Coulter and Sean Hannity are 2 of the people most responsible for these misconceptions

And you respect them?

Good god.

Don

[Blarch]

76. At least they care.

Their views are all wrong. But at least they pay attention and take a position.

Most Americans don't bother. I have always said .."People don't pay attention to things they don't care about" ...and most could give two squirts of piss about our nation.

[Dukkha]

77. They care about selling books

That is all. Their awareness of current events is nothing more to gather propaganda to manipulate the naive public into making them rich.

[exothermic]

70. Apathy is an American Tradition

:shrug:

[librechik]

79. who cares...

seriously, so is anti-intellectualism AND racism. It's obvious, and it's obvious that no one can really do anything about it. Because of the apathy, anti-intellectualism and racism.

[PassingFair]

80. "Entitlements"

Their biggest worry is that someone is
getting more than them.

They HATE, HATE, HATE.

Example, my freeper sister-in-law, home-schools
her three boys, because she didn't want them
exposed to "all that tolerance stuff".

Bitches and whines about "welfare", unemployment,
family leave, etc....although SHE of course, has
not worked a day in her life.

BUT, she puts those same 3 boys into a FAITH-BASED
electrical engineering scheme, run by the catholic
church FOR FREE.

This is apparently her reward for purity.

Guess it's not an "entitlement" if the church is
sponsoring it!

I am SO fucking sick of hearing the word "entitlement"
from freeper mouths.

It's not an "entitlement" when THEY need it.

It's their DUE.

[NuttyFluffers]

83. media (and this includes polls now sadly) is in the business of selling reality.

and the other sad thing is it takes but 1 to spoil the bunch.

i can't tell you how many times i had OK to good days at work at retail -- but i can remember to the moment the bad days and customers. it's the bad things that stand out in mundane life, not the good. i can assure you i've had more good to average customers than outright bad or embarrassingly stupid. yet my memory fixates on the bad; and i know i'm not the only one.

people are surprisingly smart on average, but it's the exceptions to the rule that we fixate on. honestly, are there more racists around you than other people? if so every other car or cubicle would have a Confederate flag, broadcasting their hate. but that's rarely the case. same thing with the profound stupidity on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. sure you can find deeply ignorant people, but there are quite a lot of people who are not that ignorant -- they just don't make it on TV.

we look around life and compare it to the "reality" of TV. when it doesn't match our expectations, provided from TV, we ignore it. when it does, it confirms "our suspicions." really, outside of being not up-to-date on certain politics, most people are still savvy enough to play with the rest of us here.

sadly, i do believe critical thinking skills has been suppressed, in education, in media, in daily life. but overall the skill is still there and no matter how atrophied it can still recover. but i do not find our nation awash in the stupidity being sold to us by the glass teat. even entertainment fixated people still surprise me with astute assessments in current events. there's real thinking there, deep down, it's just not being fostered in this environment.

and all too easily we fall back on being defensive in this situation. one calls another stupid, or elitist, or herd animals, or manipulative pricks, or whatever. but that doesn't get to the heart of the shared humanity. really, you'll be surprised how ignorant we all can be of things. does not mean we haven't the capacity, it just means we haven't the experience. and fear of being ridiculed causes people to get defensive and divided into factions.

(that said, there really is a portion of willfully ignorant and spiteful people on earth. but they are nowhere near as large as people give them credit.)