> I'll agree that "ignorance" and "stupidity" are constructed, and not
> the result of any biological deficiency among the American masses.
> But the patterns of ignorance are interesting, no? No idea what the
> hammer & sickle mean, no idea who the Chief Justice is, but quick to
> name the winner of American Idol. That's a pretty uphill climb for
> the likes of you & me, no?
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True. But 14 years old today is still pretty young, and the great unwashed
have always been seen as vulgar, drunk, frivolous, and uneducated until they
get serious and pull together in crises to reveal their better qualities,
including the capacity to learn quickly about the Chief Justice and the
hammer and sickle if that is necessary information.
Judging by the polls, most Americans' views about Iraq, health care, global warming, the rights of women and minorities, and other important issues are broadly in line with our own rather than with the right and their views have progressed steadily as these issues have become more urgent.
Intellectuals are concerned with ideas, so find it surprising and frustrating that their deeper interests aren't widely shared, which can lead to a loss of perspective and an exaggerated and unwarranted contempt for the mass of the population, usually quietly held but sometimes rising to the surface.