Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
I’ve been noticing that the older I get, the more I despair for the future of this country. Perhaps I’m less able to tolerate the silliness and stupidity that seems to be part and parcel of our national discourse. Perhaps I’m less willing to countenance our reliance on myth-making over rational discussion. Or maybe I’m just sick to death of listening to politicians appealing to the lowest common denominator…and being rewarded for it.
When a Congressman can deride a laudable government nutrition program by saying, “they gonna be calling you to make sure you eat fruits and vegetables, every day“….
When Christians can argue against anti-bulllying campaigns because they view these efforts as a sneak attack design to give homosexuals “special rights”….
When a Tea Party leader can make up his own history…and people believe him….
When a Tea Party candidate can assert with a straight face that Sharia is slowly but surely taking hold in the US….
When the Governor of Texas can turn a tragic lone gunman/suicide incident on the University of Texas campus into an excuse to advocate for allowing students to carry guns on campus….
When Americans can say that they trust Democrats more than Republicans on key issues…but it seems clear that a majority are leaning towards voting Republican….
When nominally intelligent, lucid people can with no hint of irony state that President Barack Obama isn’t an American citizen, and that, even worse, he’s a (GASP!!!) Muslim….
I could continue (ad infinitum, ad nauseum), but you probably get where I’m headed with this argument. As a nation, we’ve developed an aversion to thinking, and so we latch on to the first myth that happens to dovetail with our prejudices and pre-conceived notions.
We live in difficult times. There are no quick and easy solutions available…and yet what do we have? Politicians appealing to emotion, fear, and prejudice, and voters unrealistically demanding simple, quick, and easy-to-achieve solutions to complex, difficult-to-solve problems. Good Lord, but we’re a stupid collection of easily-manipulated sheeple, aren’t we??
