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It seems as of late, perhaps due to social media, there is a prevalence of stupid, ignorant, and asinine viewpoints among us. And I'm not just railing against "the viewpoints I disagree with". These are viewpoints that are not based in any sort of reality or objectivity or science-based approach. They are composed of delusions, conspiracy theories, and other radical unfounded ideals.
It feels to me as if there is a war among us. The war is between all those people who worked their asses off in school, got good grades, earned degrees, followed the rules, etc., on one side, and the misfits, outcasts, burnouts, slackers, etc., on the other side.
Smart people usually know they're smart typically by realizing and acknowledging how much they actually don't know and attempting to pursue knowledge in those areas. Stupid people do not know they are a stupid. In fact, many of them think they are incredibly smart. So they wind up being the loudest, bloviating, tyrannical ego-maniacs out there. And all the while, smart people are expected to live amongst these morons and idiots while also playing nicely with them. You can't talk down to them, you can't call them out for what they are. Rather you're supposed to patiently listen to them, give them a platform, and try to reason with them. Well you can't reason with people who didn't reason themselves into a viewpoint in the first place.
It is absolutely mind boggling that we have regressed so much in such a short amount of time. I'm legitimately concerned for future generations as to what they will be up against. It will be the C-D-E students running things while the A-B students are shouted down and told to keep silent. The idiocracy is prevailing at an alarming rate, and it is terrifying.
The thing I've found interesting is that, especially online, people can tend to confuse, "that's your opinion. Let's agree to disagree" with "you need to give this unfounded conspiracy theory equal consideration with legitimate science and scholarship." Some concepts are factually incorrect, and no, I don't have to seriously think about them.
The thing I've found interesting is that, especially online, people can tend to confuse, "that's your opinion. Let's agree to disagree" with "you need to give this unfounded conspiracy theory equal consideration with legitimate science and scholarship." Some concepts are factually incorrect, and no, I don't have to seriously think about them.
What alarms me the most is that, even while you may not seriously think about them, these ideas are gaining traction in the marketplace of ideas. There used to be some comfort in the idea that stupid ideas will eventually lose out and fade away. But now some of these stupid ideas are on the main stage, or worse, front and center. Stupidity is gaining grown, and I fear it's only a matter of time before it starts winning on a regular basis.
What's even scarier is that we're being told to 'shut up' when it comes to addressing false or fictitious information. You can't address misinformation on certain 'hot' topics on this forum because now it's considered rude or controversial or stirring the pot.
What alarms me the most is that, even while you may not seriously think about them, these ideas are gaining traction in the marketplace of ideas. There used to be some comfort in the idea that stupid ideas will eventually lose out and fade away. But now some of these stupid ideas are on the main stage, or worse, front and center. Stupidity is gaining grown, and I fear it's only a matter of time before it starts winning on a regular basis.
What's even scarier is that we're being told to 'shut up' when it comes to addressing false or fictitious information. You can't address misinformation on certain 'hot' topics on this forum because now it's considered rude or controversial or stirring the pot.
I also think these nutso conspiracy theories are being amplified by bad actors who stand to benefit from a gullible populace.
The neuroscience behind people who believe in easily disprovable nonsense is fascinating. In a "post-fact" society, they don't even care if they're demonstrably wrong.
They. Don't Care.
Being in opposition (being "special") is more important. I do think it's neurological. They are too much alike in their educational attainment, financial situation and political views for it to be sociological.
I also think these nutso conspiracy theories are being amplified by bad actors who stand to benefit from a gullible populace.
100% agreed. In fact, there is probably more of this going on than we realize. There are some truly harmful people out there who are inflicting great damage on our society.
What's the solution? More education? In a world that is slowly growing more and more distrust and disdain for educational institutions, how do you approach this? How do you make education "cool" again, when a growing segment of the population despises it and is raising their offspring to despise it as well?
The war is between all those people who worked their asses off in school, got good grades, earned degrees, followed the rules, etc., on one side, and the misfits, outcasts, burnouts, slackers, etc., on the other side.
I was one of those people who worked my ass off in school, got excellent grades, scholarship honors, followed the rules, etc.
But I'm old enough to have been taught in the "old school" - kids in the 50s and 60s were taught in "tracks". The smart, college-bound kids, the "Group 1" kids, were taught differently than the Group 2 kids (community college), the Group 3 kids (went to work or the military right after graduating high school) or the Group 4 kids (dropouts).
The Group1 and Group 2 kids had the same textbooks, and tests. The teachers in the Group 2 classes went over the material in the classroom, assuming not all the students read or understood the material.
The students in the Group 1 did research papers, in addition to the homework reading assignments. Class time was spend either in the school library, doing research, or presenting papers to the class, and defending or challenging the papers.
This was the norm back in the 60s.
When this cohort got to college, it was threatened with the draft to fight a war in Viet Nam, which was clearly and obviously being lied about in the media.
Remember, this was a body of the best students, who were experienced researchers at age 19. If you go back to the reports at the time, the protests against the war were at the top universities, not at Podunk U.
When the Trilateral Commission put out a white paper (https://archive.org/details/crisisofdemocrac0000croz) on how to stop the massive protests rocking not only the US, but also Europe, Mexico, Japan, their number one suggestion was to quit teaching kids civics and history, and focus on making education be about job training. Up to then, education was about becoming a better citizen.
When my daughter was in school in the 90s, the educational system had changed. Smart kids did Running Start, which put them in community colleges, where they memorized and regurgitated more material, but no research.
When my generation saw the blatant lies the media and government were handing out, and learned of the nefarious deeds of the security state, they made it a point to start the underground press, and try to get the word out that things were bad, in many ways.
We still have, in an increasingly smaller circle of citizens, the concept of independent research and questioning authority.
Nowadays, being "well-educated" just means being able to parrot back the lies of the corporate press. The level of lies that the "educated" people swallow, with no independent research, is mind-boggling.
I hesitate to say this in words, but I have to:
Sometimes the government lies, corporations don't always have the public's best interests at heart, and the media is owned by people who have important secrets to hide.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I always ask people who hold the OP's position:
1) Was Oswald a lone assassin? To this day, the media still says Yes.
2) Did James Earl Ray kill MLK? To this day, the media still says Yes.
3) Did Sirhan Sirhan kill RFK? To this day, the media still says Yes.
4) Did Timothy McVeigh and a truck bomb take down the Murrah building in Oklahoma City?
To this day, the media still says Yes.
5) Were the World Trade Towers taken down by two planes hijacked by terrorists directed by Osama bin Laden?
To this day, the media still says Yes.
6) (I'm not going to risk asking any questions here about the current psyop going on.)
'nuff said
Last edited by margaretBartle; 10-22-2021 at 01:44 PM..
Sometimes the government lies, corporations don't always have the public's best interests at heart, and the media is owned by people who have important secrets to hide.
The vast majority of intelligent people I know do not dispute this. We are more than well aware that there are issues within these institutions. Hell, if anyone told me right now that Corporate America was all about doing right for the American people, I'd just laugh out loud in their face. But it's not zero-sum, or one or the other thinking that is necessary to get on by. You can still have belief, faith, or hope in these ideas while recognizing the importance of being vigilant and holding them accountable. Hitler was a terrible person and many Germans at the time followed him into the darkness. Not every German was a bad person though, and in fact, Germany today works diligently to uphold the rights of all its citizens no matter what race, sex, or religious creed.
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What do you mean "educated"?
