I came across an article that reinforces my contention that too many Americans

[totodeinhere]

are incredibly stupid. I hate to be blunt but it's the truth.

Just 56% of Americans can name all three branches of government — a 15-year high!

So only 56% of Americans can name something that I learned in grammar school. And that's a 15 year high? Heaven help us. And another study found that more than half of Americans cannot name more than two Supreme Court justices. I think that this is a main cause for the pickle that this country is in now.

No wonder Trump got more than 74 million votes in the 2020 election. And no wonder millions refuse to get Covid vaccinations. And millions believe crazy right wing conspiracy theories.

Just getting this off my chest. Maybe it is insensitive of me to call millions of people "stupid," but I am not the only one saying this. During a trip to Europe that I took a couple of years ago the obvious ignorance of so many Americans was a common refrain that I heard.

https://www.studyfinds.org/knowledge-the-first-amendment/

[leftstreet]

1. Maybe they think knowing those things doesn't matter

Not defending or accusing of anything

I just don't think it's a good indication of whether or not a person is "stupid"

[msongs]

2. maybe ignorant is a more exact word nt

[GoodRaisin]

4. The 74 million votes goes a long way toward the indication of "stupid".

[Rhiannon12866]

5. +100!

[leftstreet]

7. Well, half the eligible US voters don't vote

So I'm not sure it indicates much population wide. A fairly small percentage of people put either a Republican or a Democrat in the WH

[Progressive Jones]

32. Non voters suck, IMHO. Lazy asses...

[Silent3]

11. Not knowing these things is ignorant. Adding on that you don't think you need to know...

...is definitely compounding that ignorance with stupidity.

[brush]

3. republican leaders know this and like it that way. It's the only way...

they get enough votes to win elections. The more educated people are, they tend towards liberalism and progressivism.

[Irish_Dem]

18. Yep. Democracy must have an educated citizenry

Last edited Fri Sep 17, 2021, 10:43 AM - Edit history (1)

The GOP is not interested in a democratic system and will do anything they can to keep people ignorant.

[Demovictory9]

6. "ignorant" is a better word than "stupid"

[cynical_idealist]

9. True. They've been brainwashed with bad data from right wing media

all or most of their lives.

[totodeinhere]

12. I'm fine with using "ignorant." Neither ignorant nor stupid is a good thing.

I am using stupid purposefully out of my very heavy personal disdain for anyone who would vote Trump or who would refuse the Covid vaccine.

[bluedevil4]

8. I found myself

explaining to a group of young adults how a bill becomes a law. I asked if they still have a civics class in high school and got lots of deer in the headlights look

[modrepub]

10. Schoolhouse Rocks

was just about as effective as my civics class (I'm Just A Bill).




Probably could use something like that for the younger crowd. Saturday morning cartoons are lost on this generation.

[bluedevil4]

13. I had forgotten

tidbits like that were rolled into our entertainment. Not today

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. Do these kinds of "studies" look at how many people know how to find out what those branches

are?

[totodeinhere]

16. Well if they don't even know how to find out what those branches are then that

does not speak well for their intelligence either. Every American should know that.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Reciting things by rote is not a sign of intelligence.

[totodeinhere]

28. Yes, I know intelligence is a function of the ability to solve problems.

I get that. But not knowing basic facts about civics that any school child should know is my definition of dumb. And why would anyone want to defend someone like that?

I can't believe that DU posters are defending the same people who tired to overthrow a democratic election on January 6th and who are responsible for exacerbating the pandemic by refusing to get vaccinated. If that isn't dumb I don't know what is.

CNN's Lemon: It's Time to Start Shaming Those 'Stupid' Anti-vaxxers

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2021/09/16/lemon--we-need-to-be-shaming-the-unvaxxed-n2595984

[keithbvadu2]

15. Sen. Tuberville thought the three branches of government are "the House, the Senate and executive."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214542886

Sen. Tuberville thought the three branches of government are "the House, the Senate and executive."

[Irish_Dem]

19. How many elected officials can name the three branches of government?

[totodeinhere]

29. They all should, but if not, two wrongs don't make a right. n/t

[Irish_Dem]

31. I didn't mean it that way. I meant the entire GOP is full of idiots.

From top to bottom.

[Buns_of_Fire]

20. Yeah, but Tubes is an absolute *whiz* at diagramming an off-tackle

quarterback sneak forward lateral reverse pass to the near-left moonback.

His voters know what's important in a U.S. Senator!

[PatSeg]

21. Recently, I saw a Jimmy Kimmel clip

where they interviewed people on the street, asking them to name one book they'd read over the summer. One guy said he hadn't read a book since 8th grade. Another said he had read the first paragraph of a magazine article. Basically, a large percentage of Americans do not read at all.

I have twin six year old grandsons and they read numerous books a week. They have a timer on their reading lights in their bedroom, so they don't end up reading all night. One night when the light went off, one of them went into the hallway so he could finish reading his book.

How can so many people not read?

[Blue_Adept]

23. A lot of people just don't have the time

That's one of the biggest reasons.

[PatSeg]

24. I think for many people,

the time is there, but it is how they use it. Anyone who hasn't read a book since grade school or cannot even remember reading a book, is probably not inclined to read anything other than texts or memes on their smartphones.

Yes, I do understand that there are people with fulltime jobs and children to raise, who don't have time to sit and read a book (been there), but I still see so many people who spend hours staring at their phones. They are often the ones who can't name a single book that they've read. Such a shame.

[Blue_Adept]

34. A lot of us read on our phone

You could see me staring at my phone for an hour and that's because I'm reading my kindle books on it. I switched to ebooks with the readers in the early 2000s and have never looked back.

[PatSeg]

36. My daughter-in-law does the same thing

though she has begun to primarily use her Kindle now. Much easier on the eyes than her phone and the screen is bigger.

Most of the books I read are usually on my Kindle. I can adjust the font and brightness, plus I can tap on a word to get the definition. I still occasionally read regular hard copy books, but a couple of times I went to tap on a word and realized there was no built in dictionary! What a wonderful invention and I don't run out of bookshelf space.

[totodeinhere]

30. They don't have the time to learn civics, but they have the time to mount a reresection on Jan. 6.

We are not talking brain surgery here. We are talking about simple facts that any school child should know.

[Blue_Adept]

35. What's been show repeatedly is when you surprise someone on the street

They're going to lock up and not be able to process things when they have a camera and microphone suddenly shoved in their faces.

Yes, it makes for funny haha moments.

But then you could put them in a place where they'll expect questions or just casual conversation and then they suddenly know things because they're not in that tense lockup moment.

Not everyone performs the same way and most people will get flustered and not know how to answer.

[lagomorph777]

22. The right wing have deliberately damaged education since the days of "grammar schools".

The terminology has changed from "grammar school, junior high school, and high school" to "elementary school, middle school, and high school". Probably some variants in between that I've missed.

But far more insidious are the changes in content and emphasis. "Civics" is no longer taught. Most other subjects have new names and textbooks printed by right-wing publishers, under the gaze of right-wing school board censors.

[peggysue2]

25. Think ignorant is a more accurate description

I wouldn't discount the effects of 24/7 propaganda, disinformation, conspiracy theory, etc., spread through social networking, talk radio and Fox News.

The Republicans know exactly what they're doing using their 'base' as a battering ram against the rest of the country. Their supporters buy into all this junk info and the GOP-sponsored outlets reinforce whatever crazy idea/meme they spout. It's a perverted form of entertainment to juice up the rage.

Anything and everything to regain power and reshape the country into their own image: authoritarian greed-heads.

[keithbvadu2]

26. Bedtime reading

[keithbvadu2]

27. "If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent

“If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain you.”

― Jim Mattis, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9949532-if-you-haven-t-read-hundreds-of-books-you-are-functionally

---------------------------------------

Patton (movie) - "...I read your book!"

[Dr. Strange]

33. Here's a public service announcement: