The Greatest Threat to Our Nation is Stupidity

[NanceGreggs]

If we could wipe out the abject Stupidity that has gripped our country, we could go on to form a more perfect union - one free of political grifters who take their constituents' money while fucking them at every opportunity.

What is it other than Stupidity that leads American citizens to support politicians whose idea of 'freedom' means taking away a women's right to choose, or a parent's right to ensure that their children have more access to books and less access to guns?

What is it other than Stupidity that convinces God-fearing "Christians" that a lying, self-proclaimed pussy-grabber was anointed by the Almighty to lead a nation?

What is it other than Stupidity that causes people living paycheque-to-paycheque to donate money to multi-millionaires like Joel Osteen so he can afford to live in luxury while they scrounge to afford to eat - or donate money to people like Steve Bannon who pocketed their "Build the Wall" funds while laughing at their gullibility all the way to the bank?

What is it other than Stupidity that prompts voters to elect whack-jobs who believe in Jewish Space Lasers, the Gazpacho Police, and peach-tree dishes?

What is it other than Stupidity that convinces the Unbearably Stupid to vote for the very people who disdain them, despise them, and see them as suckers who will literally believe any bullshit they're fed?

If we could wipe out Stupidity like the mind-numbing, brain-eating disease that it is, we might actually achieve
being the democracy we were always destined to be.

Fight the Stupidity at every opportunity - it's our only chance of survival.

[Mopar151]

1. Stupidity and the Stanford-Binet index have a non linear relationship.

Other factors can cause the relationship to become inverse. Politics can make it perverse.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. There are dimensions of Stupid such as Wisdom and Clever

The Wisdom dimension is distinct from Clever. Other dimensions include Knowledge (memory and exposure to topics) and Emotional Intelligence.

The rump is clever about media and other people's money, but completely unwise about nationhood ("why do soldiers do it? What's in it for them?" ).

The rump is a salesperson and a con artist, so he has emotional intelligence, but he has little knowledge (drinking bleach for Covid, looking at sun in eclipse).

They are distinct. It is possible and desirable to be clever, wise, knowledgeable and emotionally perceptive at the same time. A person can know a lot but not know what to do with the knowledge, like say sports stats, history, and arcana.

Many people are wise (thankfully) though not especially clever or knowledgeable. These are the people who work hard, sometimes very hard, and support other people the very best they can whenever they can. They are generally tolerant and generally make wise votes. They are the salt of the earth and we are lucky to have them.

[Mopar151]

19. The wisdom needed to apply simple logic is not universal.

In the words of Bob Dylan: You don't have to be a weatherman, to know which way the wind is blowin!

[ancianita]

2. Thank you. All good points. However. There is no help or cure for Stupidity.

Stupidity can only be prevented by advanced education and exposure to the world through travel.

[William Seger]

3. If the difference between ignorance and stupidity is that ignorance is curable

... then willful ignorance is indistinguishable from stupidity.

[Mopar151]

20. Wilfull Ignorance is a higher order disease than pure stupidity.

Some grades of Stupid are only available as original equipment. In these, a software patch (Wisdom 1.163)can often mitigate many of the effects.
It's the aftermarket Stupid that is difficult to deal with, particularly when it comes to propietary hardware add-ons. Trying to figure out which version of Stupid is being supported can be vexing!

[mnhtnbb]

4. I think it's more than stupidity

or prideful (willful) ignorance. I think FDR was right about fear being the motivating factor behind many people's behavior, especially fear of "others". And we all know the "others" against which the right wing are railing: women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ.

I don't think it's stupidity holding straight white males back from wanting to share power with these "others", but fear that if they do, they will end up being treated the way they've been treating the "others" for centuries.

[allegorical oracle]

18. Agree. Often find that opportunism is the motivation. Witness a Ted Cruz. He's well-educated, but he

and so many others figured they had to go along and play the political game. He attempted to criticize drumpf but soon learned that it was politically dangerous. The so-called base consists primarily of people who feel marginalized and have massive grievances that tfg and his dangerous handlers (Bannon), plus Fox News, recognized and are exploiting to this day.

[FrankTC]

5. What Is It Other Than Stupidity? How About Sadism, Schadenfreude, and Bile

The stupid, it hurts, of course. But the stupid is about how the brain-dead operate against their own self-interest. They disregard their object self-interest, however, for the delight of hurting others, owning the libs, sinking their teeth into their favorite enemies. They're stupid for sure, at least in the realm of politics, but they're also fundamentally vicious.

[Layzeebeaver]

6. I'm not so sure it's Stupidity

It s polarisation around fake issues and religious posturing

The elimination of the fairness doctrine, and advent of home schooling and the citizens United decision are three solid stakes smack in the heart of democracy.

- Fox is the ultimate expression of the lack of the fairness doctrine

- The Extreme Right is the outgrowth of a generation of home schooling (education within a cultural vacuum)

- Corporate influence and corruption in our government bodies is here now thanks to CU.

How do we fix it?

- Overturn CU with Democratic Party authored legislation that eliminates dark money in politics - drive a federally funded election - expose ALL money donated - keeping donated money secret should not be considered free speech. it endangers society just like yelling fire in a theatre.

- Require public school education (parents can continue to teach their kids at home whatever they want - but the kids will get a wider view AND be cultured into becoming members of a wider society (TEACH THEM CIVICS!!!)

- sue the shit out of FOX and eliminate them from the face of the earth (oh and if possible reinstate the fairness doctrine)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Polarization works because Stupid not educated in critical thinking and civics: you got that right

Critical Thinking: They have so little self-awareness that they are unaware how easily and frequently they are swayed by emotion and emotional framing. They fall prey to logical fallacies of all kinds and variations. They gish-gallop when debating ( "owning the libs" ).

Civics: Yes, they might be able to tell you why they hate the Amendment for electing Senators and other details of this or that in US political governance.

But they can't explain the basic fundamental reason for Peaceful Transfer of Power (no J6s) in the UNITED States of America.

[The Grand Illuminist]

26. The fairness doctrine is a doorway....

to the farthest right. The KKK would be granted access, by law, to have their say. Sure it gives equal time, but would you and your children be subjected to pure pro-Nazi propaganda for the sake of equal time?

[Layzeebeaver]

28. In all fairness, you are correct.

However, we all need to see and understand the extreme right view and why it's unacceptable in pluralistic society.

At least forcing media channels to communicate multiple viewpoints should be considered a good thing?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. There is Woke and there is Stupid and there is Apathetic (mild form of Stupid). . . nt

[betsuni]

8. It's not stupidity. I'm stupid. I can speak for my people.

Not stupidity that makes one vulnerable to brainwashing by propaganda and obvious bullshit, it's stubbornness, weakness, lack of common sense, lack of common horse sense that animals and small children have.

[7wo7rees]

13. Willful ignorance. n/t. Ms7wo7rees

[Martin Eden]

10. I suppose Bigotry and Greed are, ultimately, Stupid

Racial, religious, and gender bigotry are not just for MAGA morons. Entire pholosophies and ideologies developed by people with high IQ's have provided intellectual frameworks around what is, essentially, hatred of others.

And there is no shortage of very smart people who devote their lives to the accumulation of wealth, or work for the filthy rich.

But in the end, hatred and greed ARE stupid.

Hatred begets violence that eventually reaches those who spawned it.

Despoiling the planet which sustains life itself is stupid, and the hoarding of wealth while so many millions struggle to get by will spark revolutionary uprisings.

So, yeah, STUPIDITY in all its forms is the greatest threat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. Great post. Greed is very short-sighted and hatred is blind. . . . nt

[no_hypocrisy]

12. There's Ignorance, and then there's Stupidity

Ignorance is when you don't know any better.

Stupidity is when you know better and do it anyway.

And then there's the In-Between where those folks can't be bothered to think, to connect the dots.

[imanamerican63]

14. Gosh! What would we do with all the stupid people?

Send to to Trump’s dump & call it “Stupidland”?

[Aussie105]

15. It's not simply stupidity.

As people progress from childhood to adulthood, we all try to make sense of the world.
We all need to, in order to navigate our world, to function correctly, and fit into society.

But some people get it wrong, they assume that if they need or want something, it will simply come to them.
All they need to do is wait.
The idea of making an effort to get somewhere close to achieving what you aspire to, just doesn't occur.

And it must be someone's fault. The resentment towards those who appear to keep them from becoming who they expect to be spontaneously, just grows.

It manifests itself in suspicion of all those not like them, even hate, and they gravitate towards those who feel as they do - neglected, hard done by, victimised. (KKK for example.)

And often it boils over into violence. Domestic violence, road rage, rage attacks on the street, planned gun attacks on places of worship because they are seen as threats.

Semi intelligent and very manipulative people like MTG, Boebert, Trump, Fox and a lot of right wing groups will encourage and legitimise those feelings.

But it's not just stupidity, don't call it that, the word doesn't even cover it.

Be careful out there, there are a lot of them. You may have some in your immediate family.

I certainly do.

[Whiskeytide]

16. There is nothing society can do ...

… to eliminate the stupid among us, or even reduce their numbers. All we can do is hope to offset the damage they cause.

[The Grand Illuminist]

24. Except bring the fear to them.

By using unfortunate necessities. They are about to leave us with sadly no choice.

[quickesst]

17. Personally, I would give a slight edge......

... to willful ignorance, rather than stupidity, which by all means plays a significant part in a significant number of trumpers as stated in the 0P. I have to differentiate between the two when assessing trump world. We tend to concentrate on the country bumpkin aspect, when we all know there are doctors, lawyers, some military, and an array of professional people who supported him. You don't become those things by being stupid. What Donald Trump's election did was to open the door, and give permission to racism, misogyny, etc which is a powerful thing when unleashed without restraint.
Why would a professional vote for Donald Trump? Because for these people, showing their true colors has been something dreamed of in modern history. They have been given permission to finally put their strongest trait into action openly. That trait is their strongest, and encompasses all other deplorable traits. Hate.
In a lot of cases, and given time, stupidity can be somewhat overcome with some hard work and dedication to that cause. What can never be overcome with argument, or debate is an impenetrable wall of willful ignorance. They know pretty much everything being said about them is true, but for them, the trade-off is well worth it.

[dlk]

21. We need a war on cultivated ignorance

Instead of a war on public schools.

[Paladin]

22. Well and truly stated, N.G. (nt)

[The Grand Illuminist]

23. Not stupidity, just pure evil.

These people know what they are doing. They choose with sound minds, and should be held accountable just like the candidates/elected officials accordingly. The blood on the candidate/official's hands is equal to the blood on their voters hands, otherwise known as "equal blood".

[maxrandb]

25. It's not entirely stupidity. It's unserious people being taken seriously

I swear, watching these Retrumplicans in the state houses and Congress, is like watching a dog work a trigonometry equation, while half of the people I know tell me the dog is a genius.

[llmart]

27. It's not stupidity at all.

I'd say it's more gullibility and an inability to think for themselves or they're too intellectually lazy to think for themselves. After all, we have the internet now and they know how to "do their research".

Are there stupid people in our country? For sure, but most of the people you're referring to aren't inherently stupid. They are, however, easy to manipulate.

[hunter]

30. Anti-intellectualism is a despicable constant in American History.

Certain religions are simply not viable without it.

Frankly, if someone's religion tells them the earth is less than 10,000 years old and that LGBTQ people should be tormented and discriminated against, then their religion is stupid and mean and they themselves are stupid and mean.

I don't automatically respect, or even tolerate, many religious beliefs. Anyone who piously tells me to "Love the sinner and hate the sin..." some "sin" arbitrarily defined by their twisted religion, they can go fuck themselves.

We're taught that religious freedom is a good thing and that we should respect other people's religions, but I do not respect anyone who worships a cruel and capricious god. People who worship such gods are stupid.

[Proud to be Woke]

31. Not stupidity but willingness

Sadly, I know some Republicans like this. I don't know one single Democrat, no, not one person who regularly votes Democratic, that has this trait. The Democrats I know are willing to discuss, not argue. I even disagree with some of them on some issues and they are willing to hear me out and rationally discuss. The Republicans.... I long ago gave up using reason and trying to have a discussion about politics or social issues. They are not interested in world affairs. They refuse to discuss. Usually they say our country, even though greater than all those other unsafe countries, is going to pot and that is their final word.

I can't evaluate the attitudes of all Republicans, certainly, but the twenty-two whom I know personally are, with eight exceptions pretty sad and lonely. The fourteen Republicans that are lonely are mostly incels or had an unsuccessful marriage. Many of the fourteen got college degrees but only two did anything with them. The ones who got an education but did not use their education. all paid for by parents or a scholarship, strangely discarded it, tossed it aside like so much unwanted garbage and did something else that had nothing to do with the major they graduated with, and paid them substantially less. I see these individuals especially as spoiled people who sat on their hind ends waiting for someone to give them more and more.

The lack of prominence in personal and professional lives combined with a sense of entitlement seems to be a major problem in Western society. When one combines these it creates a huge bitterness that is hard for them to conceal. Nobody did this to the people I refer to above. No one told them to major in something they did not like. Or if they did, these people could have gone back to school and put most courses toward a major they did like. But they didn't. Is this stupidity? No, it is their own choices. But they seem bitter anyway.