The Death of Intelligence: Why Modern Society Celebrates Stupidity

[no_hypocrisy]

[Irish_Dem]

1. Canada and Mexico each elected a PhD as president.

They value education and intelligence.

[sop]

5. According to a 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),

Canada is the most educated country in the world. Canada ranks first worldwide in the percentage of adults having tertiary education, with over 57 percent of Canadian adults having attained at least an undergraduate degree.

[Irish_Dem]

16. Probably in large part due to the fact college is affordable in Canada.

[RVN VET71]

8. "I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED!!!!" No need to wonder who said that

The ignorant and the stupid have always been suspicious of "them egghaids" who think they know it all.

But, back before Trump, when the ignorant complained about smart people, most (and I mean most) Americans just shrugged, and maybe even wryly smiled at the envy implicit in the complaint.

But Dr. Asimov was troubled by what he saw was the tolerance, rooted in our culture, of that kind of ignorance. He sensed that the tolerance of the loud and persistent public expression of distrust for the educated was rotting the root core of our culture and was going to lead to authoritarianism. Not "might" lead to it, but was inevitably going to result in it, in authoritarian rule, in the election of a "president", for example, who doubts -- publicly -- whether he is really obligated to follow the rule of law or the Constitution.

So here we are, and I'm afraid there's no going back.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Issac Asimov was correct. No wonder he was a fantastic sci-fi author.

He could see the future.

[The Wizard]

2. The great dumbing down started with Spiro Agnew and George Wallace

back in 1968. Somehow ignorance became equal to knowledge.
"On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H. L. Mencken

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

H. L. Mencken

[love_katz]

6. I remember.

George Wallace and Spiro Agnew both hurled what they thought were insults against intelligent and educated people: " pointy headed intellectuals".
Absolute scum, both of them.

[RVN VET71]

12. I despised Wallace, but I hated (and still do) Agnew

[no_hypocrisy]

14. I'd say Adlai Stevenson.

Republicans called him an egghead.

[Mike Nelson]

3. I know one category...

... of Stupid that is celebrated. Very wealthy Stupid people. Money seems to be the best cure for Stupidity. It's not that all very wealthy people are Stupid. It's just that some are simply passed along as being educated when they are never really challenged... because they are wealthy. It seems that most of the Stupid wealthy people have inherited wealth.

[RVN VET71]

13. Like "If you're so rich, why ain't you smart?"

And the Erik's and Donnie's might respond: "because we're so rich."

And that's the kind of razor-sharp logic the entire MAGA population appreciates and guffaws about.

[sop]

4. Corporate America discovered long ago catering to the lowest common denominator was more profitable.

[love_katz]

7. He lost me with his both-siderism rhetoric.

No thanks.

[ariadne0614]

11. At first, I winced at the straw example as well.

Upon further consideration, I realized his point. He wasn’t saying the banishment of plastic straws is a bad idea per se. I think he was saying that our side often fails to consider who we’re dealing with, and adjust our strategy to the stupidity factor. It could be a cart-before-the-horse thing.

[dedl67]

9. Neil Postman, in his book "Amusing Ourselves to Death" (1985)...

blamed much of America's descent into stupidity on television culture. Social media has made that descent steeper.

[ariadne0614]

10. Who is this person? May I please know his name?

The contrast between his cadence and the manic gish gallop of most MAGAT communicators is a revelatory experience. He provides time for the human mind to absorb and consider what he’s saying. They, on the other hand, must maintain a manic firehose of sound and fury to exhaust the mind, and make it impossible for their stupefied audience to process the garbage.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

15. I too looked for a name to put to this brilliant commentator

sadly, he doesn't disclose one in his YouTube videos. He's verrrrrrry watchable. Your last sentence sums up the 'method' in Maga's madness...

They, on the other hand, must maintain a manic firehose of sound and fury to exhaust the mind, and make it impossible for their stupefied audience to process the garbage.

Perfectly phrased, ariadne0614.