December 19, 2015 8:48 AM

American democracy: Government of, by, and for the lowest common denominator

None in the group wanted to find themselves on the side of the mainstream media — or of President Obama. When Luntz asked participants to sum him up in a word or phrase, “socialist” and “Jimmy Carter” tumbled forth until one man raised the ante…. “I wouldn’t urinate on him if he was on fire,” he said….. “That’s the meanest thing I’ve ever heard,” Luntz said. Frank Lanzillo, a 59-year-old retired Marine, took that as a cue to explain just how anti-American the president really is…. “When you bend down to the Saudis, take your shoes off, put your hand on a Koran and then the Bible when you’re sworn in?” Lanzillo said. “He took his flag pin off. I’m a Marine and former deputy sheriff. He took that off, he was in the toilet to me. I would not only not piss on him if he was on fire — I’d throw gas on him.” (The president briefly chose not to wear a flag pin during the 2008 campaign; he was not sworn in on a Koran.)

When I begin to despair over the direction our country is heading (which is frequently), I begin to wonder how rational, reasonable people can break the cycle of ignorance and hatred that’s conquered so many Americans. The demographic Newt Gingrich once presciently referred to as “low-information voters” has coalesced into an easily manipulable and propagandized class of people unable to think and draw conclusions rationally. When ostensibly decent people can without a trace of irony argue that Barack Obama is a Muslim (there’s one in my own family) and that he hates America, what hope does this country have? These folks not only vote, they breed…and they pass along their fear, ignorance, and intellectual inflexibility to their offspring, who more than likely will end up every bit as simple and foolish as their parents.

Conservative pollster Frank Luntz conducted a focus group of Donald Trump supporters…and it was every bit the ignorance- and hate-fest you’d imagine. The racism and calumny unfairly and inaccurately directed at the President (oh, and the color of his skin had nothing to do with the vitriol) was stunning…but not particularly surprising. The advent and popularity of Right-wing media outlets like Fox News Channel and Breitbart, which are less journalistic endeavors than propaganda mills, have poisoned the public discourse by ensnaring those who are uncomfortable with the idea of thinking for themselves.

It’s often been said that nature abhors a vacuum, and that’s certainly true of low-information voters. Fundamentalism’s been described as the sound of a mind slamming shut, and it certainly applies in this case. Many low-information voters are fundamentalists; both groups share a pronounced lack of intellectual agility and, as John Cleese once said, “they’re so stupid that they have no idea how stupid they are.” Yeah, I know; that’s harsh…but we’re never going to be able to make things better if we can’t be honest about the problem.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz held a focus group with 29 supporters of Donald Trump this week and some journalists, including my old colleague Dave Weigel, got to watch it all through a two-way mirror. What it revealed about Trump supporters is appalling, but not surprising. The more negative information they get about Trump, the more strongly they supported him.

Over three hours Wednesday in Alexandria, Luntz lobbed dozens of Trump-seeking missiles. All 29 in the group had voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. All either supported Trump or had supported him earlier in the year. To Luntz’s amazement, hearing negative information about the candidate made the voters, only a few of whom gave their full names to the press, hug the candidate tighter.

“Normally, if I did this for a campaign, I’d have destroyed the candidate by this point,” Luntz told a group of reporters when the session ended. “After three hours of showing that stuff?”….

Only eight members of the group disagreed with Trump’s proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

I’d like to say that I’m optimistic that the truth will eventually and inevitably destroy lies and propaganda. I’d like to believe there’s a chance light can eradicate darkness. Then again, I’d like to believe in Santa Claus…but that’s not happening, either.

I honestly don’t have an answer. How DO we convince people to live in the reality-based world? How do we convince our fellow Americans that calmly and rationally considering information instead of leaping to an emotionally-fueled decision isn’t a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it’s a sign that you have a functional intellect and can evaluate information and use it to reach a rational, well thought out decision.

So what are well-meaning, rational, intellectually agile citizens to do about this seemingly intractable problem? Short of instituting a minimum-IQ requirement, I don’t have an answer. Somehow we need to be able to arrest the descent into idiocracy, but those who benefit from ignorance and reaction present a formidable obstacle to those of us who endeavor to live in the reality-based world. I don’t know how to democratically defeat rampant stupidity and the willingness to believe the worst…but if we don’t find a way, it’s going to be difficult to retain anything resembling optimism for our future.

We deserve better.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 19, 2015 8:48 AM.

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