Hola:
The methods that the US political culture uses to discourage
political involvement extend beyond merely fear mongering and
wrecking the public educational system.
Billions of dollars are spent every year to distract the public and
degrade the quality of public discourse.
The more well-known election-debasement techniques also include
erecting barriers to voter registration and making the act of voting
confusing and cumbersome.
BTW, IMHO most of the Democratic Party leadership is almost as guilty
(and much more hypocritical) as the Republican Party leadership
regarding the implementation of the aforementioned practices.
Richard Nixon was to the left of Bill Clinton on most major issues.
-- Pat
On Oct 31, 2008, at 12:57 PM, Robert Cordingley wrote:
Owen,
A theory (hypothesis strictly speaking) ... With all their polls
and focus groups, the Republicans decided/discovered long ago that
scaring the bejeebus out of people over fear of national insecurity
was a great way to get elected and re-elected. The antidote to
fear is a decent education, so the Republicans undermine the
country's education system making it only available to the more
wealthy, convicted right wingers who benefit from "them who has the
gold make the rules". Then feed the less well educated on the
belief of an American Dream (whateverthatis), repeat the mantra of
"trickle-down-economics will work... trickle-..." and sleep well at
night. Repeatedly tell folks Republicans are the only true
patriots capable of defending the country from the foreign peril
etc. and you have a self-perpetuating system. Until one day it
just doesn't sell.
But as I say it's just a theory: could it be?
But I don't buy stupid people, I buy educationally deprived people,
ie willful but not on their part.
R
Owen Densmore wrote:
I'm very willing to accept your premise that people are willful,
stupid, ignorant, and all the rest.
The question is: why does that imply a particular voting pattern?
Why do idiots vote republican? Have republicans mastered some
weird sort of hypnotism that gathers in the ignorant?
I'd presume some sort of Gaussian curve for idiots, wouldn't you?
Why are they skewed one way or the other? Why aren't they stupid
enough to vote for Obama?
-- Owen
On Oct 31, 2008, at 12:10 PM, Douglas Roberts wrote:
Owen,
I'm guessing (purely guessing; I could be completely wrong) that
you have
not ever had a job that brought you squarely into daily contact with
"average" people. I suggest this, because if you had, you most
assuredly
would not be asking (paraphrasing now)
"Why are people so willing to be completely fucking ignorant?"
The answer, IMNSHO is: the human population is, in the aggregate,
on the
average, with some exceptions, pretty happy being completely
fucking
ignorant.
Another way of asking your question would be: "Why are people the
way they
are?" The answer of course, is: "Because that's the way they are."
Of course now, I find myself wondering why you are wondering why
people are
the way they are...
I mean, isn't it obvious?
--Doug
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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
