“The trouble with people is not that they don’t know, but that they know so much that ain’t so.”
–Josh Billings
Such is the sad state of intelligence in the USA these days. When opinions masquerade as facts, and facts are seen as inconvenient truths, we have the basis for the existence of the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
How else can one explain Glenn Beck’s rally in DC this weekend drawing hundreds of thousands of people? Beck appeals to the notion that America has become a Godless country, and that’s why we have the problems we have today. This is just another instance of what Timothy Egan of the New York Times refers to as “Building A Nation Of Know-Nothings”. I call it the “American Revolution Part 2: The United Stupidity of America.”
This is a revolution of stupidity, in which many of my fellow citizens swallow whole lies and digest them as facts, then turn all this toxic brain food into nourishment for hatred, bigotry, and the breeding of more lies.
“Death Panels”
“Obama wasn’t born in America”
“Tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% will create jobs and expand the economy”
“Park 51 is a mosque”
“Pat Tilman died from friendly fire”
“Saddam Hussein has WMD”
“Mission Accomplished”
“Obama gave us TARP”
“Sex-Ed in schools is responsible for the rise in teen pregnancies”
“Global warming is a hoax”
“God hates fags”
“Obama is a Muslim”
“Redistribution of wealth”
“Obama is a Socialist/Fascist/Marxist/Nazi/Kenyan Terrorist”
Lies, lies, lies! And yet there are otherwise highly intelligent people who believe these lies because it makes them feel better about their ignorance and personal bias.
Sometimes I feel the only way to deal with it is to wear a t-shirt that reads “I’m with stupid”. The arrows would point in all directions.
Tags: POV
Voting Mad 
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