They want people who can read and write, but not people who question things too much.
Then add in unregulated extremist propaganda (fucker Carlson as the prime example) to tell them what to question - pretty much always leaving out or lying about something critical... like silly old context - and baby you've got a stew going!
Basically without addressing the two symbiotic cancers leading to our societal decay, it's the whole symptom vs root cause. And we've gotten really good at barely even bandaging the symptoms, while pretending the root cause either isn't a thing, or is just "too hard" to deal with.
You know, it's like JFK said, "We will not go to the Moon in this decade, or do the other things. They are too hard."
You know, it's like JFK said, "We will not go to the Moon in this decade, or do the other things. They are too hard."
Some people appear to actually believe that, and to me, it's bullshit, not because it's an affront (it is), but rather because they waited to post this shit after all the thousands of people who made this possible are either dead or very retired.
They could have brought this up when we actually did it, with tv programs, newspaper articles (etc), and yet they did not, because they knew that the people who worked on those programs would fight back against the misinformation. They knew their bullshit would be proven wrong and called out.
Waiting until people are either dead or very retired/elderly to call bullshit on their lifes work is nothing beyond cowardice.
You realize that the least educated areas in the country vote democrat right? I’m not even political, but I’ve got a degree in political science and this is a fact.
First of all, you need to support your claims, because that flies in the face of all the data I've seen in the past. Democrats are overwhelmingly better-educated than Republicans according to modern data.
Second of all, it's rather dubious that you claim to have a degree in poli sci but aren't political. Did your parents force you to go to college and you just threw a dart at a list of majors or something? People who pursue higher education don't graduate with a degree in something they don't give a shit about.
Third of all, "education" means a lot of things. One of the most important aspects of education is something called "critical thinking." That's where you inspect something you're hearing, seeing, or reading beyond the surface level. This allows you to understand it more deeply, and more importantly these days, decide if it's bullshit or not.
People who believe in conspiracy theories don't have strong critical thinking skills. If they did, they would realize that these batshit theories do not stand up to logic.
Therefore, people in red states that accept federal funds (lol, socialism) would benefit from a curriculum that strengthens critical thinking skills. It's not even about R vs D, it's about the fate of the country.
Also please check out how the poorest and least educated areas of our country vote. It’s a quick duck duck go search away. I’d suggest using a search browser that doesn’t show you only what it wants to. Google literally testified in front of congress that they only show results that they want to and that fall in line with the companies own agendas. This is a fact, it was recorded, and it’s their right as a company to do whatever the hell they wish to do. So they aren’t even in the wrong for doing it, just exercising their own rights as we all should.
1) I work in IT. I know how duck duck go and Google work.
2) Saying "go look it up for yourself" is not a valid method of providing sources. This virtually guarantees that I would read different materials than the ones you trust, which makes discussion about the legitimacy of your sources and argument impossible.
I'm going to continue to ignore your weird, unfounded claims.
You realize that most conspiracy theories aren’t theories at all right? You realize that people always claim things to be conspiracies until they are proven true? Did you know that basic science was thought of as witchcraft and that natural phenomenons that have occurred throughout history have been labeled as conspiracy theories until they were proven true? People who write off conspiracy theories without even researching or having an open mind to the fact that EVERYTHING is possible are close minded ignoramuses. Public schools are literally a joke. They indoctrinate employees for corporate America. People who can’t think on their own and only can think what they are told by others. I agree that this comes down to the fate of our country, and currently we are allowing the top 1% to control us completely, and now allowing them to conform us into the perfect rule following unquestioning employees that they want.
You are conflating "scientific theory" with "conspiracy theory." They're two separate things which really don't relate to watch other.
Conspiracy Theory: an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable. The term has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is not the same as a conspiracy; instead, it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, such as an opposition to the mainstream consensus among those people (such as scientists or historians) who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy.
Scientific Theory: an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that can be repeatedly tested and verified in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts.
Your antigovernment stance is built on a tower of lies. instead of telling others to go "do the research," how about you pick up a book? Something accredited, by a respected historian/scientist/journalist... It would probably do you some good.
You realize that the least educated areas in the country vote democrat right? I’m not even political, but I’ve got a degree in political science and this is a fact.
Show me your data, please. Will read and respond tomorrow.
It’s easily found. The poorest counties in the country have been voting blue since the 60s.
I won't be baited into some version of "just go research it". You said that you have a degree in political science and posited a fact. Please prove it, with peer-reviewed science.
you need to improve public schools in these specific ways.
so what do you do when they fail to meet this? you'll never get the money back, and even if you did (or withhold future money) it would all just fuck over the poor (which is why red states need blue help in the first place)
Well, fucking over the poor is not exactly a red state problem. I just moved from Georgia, and I can tell you that while the problem is exacerbated in red states, it's not substantially different from how blue states treat the poor.
That said, you enforce it by tying it to stipulations such as "if you fall to meet the goals, you forfeit X federal funds for Y." Y could be infrastructure, police budgets, tax breaks for the rich, whatever. Something that actually hurts.
Yes, many of the people that fall for conspiracy theories do so because they are just straight up dumbasses. But you would probably be surprised at the number of people that are generally intelligent that fall into conspiracy rabbit holes.
The problem is much more complicated than that and there are alot of factors at play that contribute to these belief systems.
You're definitely not wrong. One of my coworkers is among that group. I would argue that intelligent does not automatically mean that they have learned critical thinking skills, though.
It's not even a lack of critical thinking skills, these types of conspiracy movements hit a bunch of emotional triggers for their adherents. It's why it's so hard to pull them out of such movements, simply demonstrating that their beliefs are false through evidence absolutely will not work, and not because they are too stupid to understand the evidence but because they do not want to believe the evidence.
The ability of humans, even incredibly smart humans, to engage in disastrous levels of self delusion to try and interpret the reality around them in a way they find emotionally satisfying is astounding.
Many of them believe not because they are too stupid to believe otherwise, but because they want to believe.
You'd think that the uneducated would be the most hesitant, but if you educate yourself:
The largest decrease in hesitancy between January and May by education group was in those with a high school education or less. Hesitancy held constant in the most educated group (those with a Ph.D.); by May Ph.D.’s were the most hesitant group.
Minimum of one generation, yes. But it's something that is drastically holding this country back.
If you want democracy to succeed, invest in education. If you want this country to prosper, invest in education.
If we don't plant the seeds now, then we're just pushing progress back a generation. Then the next generation also pushes it back because, "oh, it doesn't immediately fix the problem? Fuck it, then."
Very few things worth doing on the national level happen quickly, and with large educational investments we're talking decades before the fruit is ripe. However, the dividends we would see in 20-40 years are incredible.
It would take 20 years tops. If you can squash any kind of political uprising and make people conform (see the CCP) in that amount of time, then this is possible in that timeframe.
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u/drewofdoom 17d ago
Nah, would be better to attach conditions like "you need to improve public schools in these specific ways."
We wouldn't have such a large anti-vax problem if people were better-educated.