Politics and religion are the perfect storm of American ignorance

[HarveyDarkey]

May 30, 2013
By: William Hamby

I recently had an aggravating conversation with a FOX Junkie. You probably know someone just like him: a typical Republican white guy: poor, Christian, authoritarian, closet racist. The topics of discussion took the usual talking point tour from Obamacare to abortion to joblessness to socialism to welfare mothers. His opinions on all but abortion were lock step with the Republican party line. (He grudgingly agrees that women ought to be able to choose to do the "horrible thing" and have an abortion.)

Through the course of the discussion, I had to stop my interlocutor many times. He kept using words that he clearly didn't understand. Rather than let him continue, I asked him if he knew the definitions. When I pressed him, he was unable to offer even a high school civics definition for any of these words:

Communism
Socialism
Fascism
Capitalism

In fact, he declared that socialism and fascism are the same thing. (They are most certainly not!) He averred that Obama is a far left wing socialist, and one of the most liberal presidents ever. When I voiced concern over the rules governing corporations like Walmart, he accused me of hating capitalism.

In short, he and I couldn't have a meaningful conversation because we weren't speaking the same language. Even though we were using the same words, we were discussing radically different notions. My sentences sounded like nonsense to him because I was using the correct definitions -- not the FOX party line.

On reflection, I realize that I have had the exact same conversation with many Christians, substituting words like "evolution" for words like "socialism." The same kind of proud ignorance displayed by the Republican rank and file is routinely praised in churches all over America. Work-a-day Joe Plumbers are more than happy to take the podium preaching the evil conspiracy of evolution even though they couldn't hope to explain the difference between meiosis and mitosis. They denounce abiogenesis based on something they read about the Big Bang. They defend the soul because they heard something about Quantum Mechanics that sounds like dualism.

Whether we are fighting the battle for progressive values in politics or a scientific evaluation of existence, we are fighting against profound and desperate ignorance. In many cases, we are unable to even conduct a dialog since the language of the educated is so radically different from that of the ignorant. Many debates grind to a halt when the progressive atheist realizes the impossibility of teaching a first year college course to a hostile audience in the five minutes allotted for rebuttal.

http://www.examiner.com/article/politics-and-religion-are-the-perfect-storm-of-american-ignorance

[postulater]

1. The need for ignorance among the electorate

Is one of the driving forces behind the push for public school privatization.

The other reason is profits for those who bought the politicians who voted to privatize.

It's happening in Wisconsin.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Yes this. A thousand times yes. My Faux "news" watching mother is a classic example K&R!! nt

[1-Old-Man]

3. It could be teaching to the test come full circle

When you teach to the test you reject all calls for evidence, you are just fed and accept a proposition and move on. OUr politics and religion can only exist in a world where official proclamation is simply accepted without a call for proof, The authority at the pulpit, the authority on the TV, either will do, accept what they tell you the answer is and move on.