The elite throughout societies since the beginning of time have understood this. You can manipulate ignorance and stupidity; not so easy with a critical thinker. (Gutenberg's Press really gobsmacked the Church's strangle hold on society!!
It's pretty amusing to consider that the "anti-education" guy is Yale/Harvard grad. Nothing elite about that.
< /sarcasm >
Sorry for the long post, but I thought this was an especially well-written summation of the current attack on education by the Right.
The Right Donât Need No Education
. . .
Thatâs
not to say that U.S. higher education is perfect. In general, we surely
fetishize the standard four-year degree, which isnât appropriate for
everyone, and grossly neglect forms of education, such as
apprenticeships, that might be more useful to many people. But thatâs a
whole other story.
For now, the
important thing to understand is that people like DeSantis are attacking
education, not because it teaches liberal propaganda, but because it
fails to sustain the ignorance they want to preserve.
The elite throughout societies since the beginning of time have understood this. You can manipulate ignorance and stupidity; not so easy with a critical thinker. (Gutenberg's Press really gobsmacked the Church's strangle hold on society!! ) It's clear the Republican Party is using the same app.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought this was an especially well-written summation of the current attack on education by the Right.
The Right Donât Need No Education
Ron
DeSantis, who is currently governor of Florida and wants to become
president, has been trying to position himself as Americaâs leading
crusader against wokeness. And lately higher education has become his
most visible target. He picked a very public fight
with the College Board over its new advanced placement course in
African American studies, and in the past few days has broadened that
attack into a suggestion that Florida might stop offering A.P. classes in any field.
Whatâs
going on here? Itâs easy to get drawn into debating accusations about
particular courses or institutions, but thatâs missing the fundamental
context: the extraordinary rise in right-wing hostility to higher
education in general.
Is every
accusation about left-leaning professors trying to indoctrinate students
false? Probably not: America is a big country, and it surely must be
happening somewhere â although the specific charges made by right-wing
critics are often ludicrous. In a meeting with the College Board,
Florida officials asked whether the new A.P. course was âtrying to advance Black Panther thinking.â Guys, the Black Panthers closed up shop when Ron DeSantis was a little kid; say the words now and most people think youâre talking about Wakanda.
It is true that college faculty members are much more likely
to identify themselves as liberal and vote Democratic than the public
at large. But this neednât be evidence of anti-conservative bias. Much
of it surely reflects self-selection: What kind of person decides to
pursue academics as a career? To make a comparison: The police skew Republican, but I presume that everyone accepts that this mainly involves who wants to be a police officer.
So whatâs really driving the attacks on higher education?
Not that long ago most Americans
in both parties believed that colleges had a positive effect on the
United States. Since the rise of Trumpism, however, Republicans have
turned very negative. Recent polling
shows an overwhelming majority of Republicans agreeing that both
college professors and high schools are trying to âteach liberal
propaganda.â
But what actually
happened here? Did Americaâs colleges â which a large majority of
Republicans considered to have a positive influence as recently as 2015 â
suddenly become centers of left-wing indoctrination? Did the same thing
happen to high schools, run by local boards, across the nation?
Of
course not. What happened was that MAGA politicians began peddling
scare stories about education â notably, denouncing high schools for
teaching critical race theory, even though they donât. And right-wingers also greatly expanded their definition of what counts as âliberal propaganda.â
Thus,
when one points out that schools donât actually teach critical race
theory, the response tends to be that while they may not use the term,
they do teach students that racism was long a major force in America,
and its effects linger to this day. I donât know how you teach our
nationâs history honestly without mentioning these facts â but in the
eyes of a substantial number of voters, teaching uncomfortable facts is
indeed a form of liberal propaganda.
And
once thatâs your mindset, you see left-wing indoctrination happening
everywhere, not just in history and the social sciences. If a biology
class explains the theory of evolution, and why almost all scientists
accept it â or, for that matter, the theory of how vaccines work â well,
thatâs liberal propaganda. If a physics class explains how greenhouse
gas emissions can change the climate â well, thatâs more liberal
propaganda.
And so a large segment of the population â the segment DeSantis is courting â has become hostile to higher education as a whole.
As an aside, itâs a familiar fact that U.S. politics is increasingly polarized along educational lines,
with the highly educated supporting Democrats and the less-educated
supporting Republicans. This polarization is often portrayed as a
symptom of Democratic failure â why canât the party win over
working-class white voters? But itâs equally valid to ask how
Republicans have managed to alienate educated voters who might benefit
from tax cuts. And the partyâs growing hostility to education is surely
part of the answer.
In any case, one
sad thing is that this turn against education is taking place precisely
at a time when highly educated workers are becoming ever more crucial to
the economy. This is especially obvious when you look at regional data
within the United States: The college-educated percentage of a cityâs
population is a powerful predictor of both its current prosperity and its future growth.
Thatâs
not to say that U.S. higher education is perfect. In general, we surely
fetishize the standard four-year degree, which isnât appropriate for
everyone, and grossly neglect forms of education, such as
apprenticeships, that might be more useful to many people. But thatâs a
whole other story.
For now, the
important thing to understand is that people like DeSantis are attacking
education, not because it teaches liberal propaganda, but because it
fails to sustain the ignorance they want to preserve.
The generation of the "Baby On Board" stickers. Somehow indicating that something that's happened since the dawn of man, suddenly anoints their vehicle with more 'value' than others.
These narcissistic babies are now grown up and have managed to make their high chair antics some form of fantasy political policy. https://wapo.st/3l50ok6
Trump tried to have Twitter censor Chrissy Teigen because she hurt his feelings.
The Twitter Files are only half (or less) of the story.
There is no proof of any government collusion in the Hunter Biden story.
The Republicans are driving themselves off a cliff to make the 30% of Americans who agree the 2020 election was stolen happy. The gerrymandered state maps have now created congressional primaries (most notably in lower-educated, lower-income districts) where insanity and conspiracy are the primary factors of electability.
The generation of the "Baby On Board" stickers. Somehow indicating that something that's happened since the dawn of man, suddenly anoints their vehicle with more 'value' than others.
These narcissistic babies are now grown up and have managed to make their high chair antics some form of fantasy political policy. https://wapo.st/3l50ok6
Dozens of members of Congress joined an audience of religious-right activists and Christian nationalists at the Museum of the Bible this morning for a âNational Gathering for Prayer and Repentance.â
The tenor of the prayer service was well encapsulated by Pastor Andrew Brunson, who became a right-wing celebrity after he was freed from detention in Turkey during the Trump administration. Brunson used his prayer to warn that the United States will soon face the judgment of God for having become âthe primary corrupter of the worldâ by supporting LGBTQ rights.
âThe Bible draws a picture of Babylon as the wealthiest, most powerful city-empire of its time; a nation that sets itself against God and uses its power and wealth to lead other peoples into immorality,â Brunson said. âThis is us. We are Babylon. The United States is the Babylon of this generation.â (...)
Brunson was followed by a panel featuring âex-gayâ activists who begged God to cleanse the nation of âthe sins of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, and sex confusion.â They were then followed by multiple members of Congress, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger was among the members of Congress who participated in the event, praying that God will âput godly people in places of authorityâ and âremove people that are ungodly from places of authority. Put them out to pasture.â
âWe are the remnant, the people who stand in the place at such a time as this, God, to do your will,â Harshbarger declared. âWeâre the only thing that stands between prosperity and destruction.â
And lets reelect Donald J Trump.
These folks really need to learn how to pray in silence.
But I can't argue for wishing for more (real) godly people, and not these clowns.
Dozens of members of Congress joined an audience of religious-right activists and Christian nationalists at the Museum of the Bible this morning for a âNational Gathering for Prayer and Repentance.â
The tenor of the prayer service was well encapsulated by Pastor Andrew Brunson, who became a right-wing celebrity after he was freed from detention in Turkey during the Trump administration. Brunson used his prayer to warn that the United States will soon face the judgment of God for having become âthe primary corrupter of the worldâ by supporting LGBTQ rights.
âThe Bible draws a picture of Babylon as the wealthiest, most powerful city-empire of its time; a nation that sets itself against God and uses its power and wealth to lead other peoples into immorality,â Brunson said. âThis is us. We are Babylon. The United States is the Babylon of this generation.â (...)
Brunson was followed by a panel featuring âex-gayâ activists who begged God to cleanse the nation of âthe sins of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, and sex confusion.â They were then followed by multiple members of Congress, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger was among the members of Congress who participated in the event, praying that God will âput godly people in places of authorityâ and âremove people that are ungodly from places of authority. Put them out to pasture.â
âWe are the remnant, the people who stand in the place at such a time as this, God, to do your will,â Harshbarger declared. âWeâre the only thing that stands between prosperity and destruction.â
While I donât doubt the republicans might superficially use race for political expediency, as do democrats (see this video)â¦this is not about race and religion. Itâs pretty clear itâs her so-called progressive politics that republicans want to silence, not her religion, color and all the things sheâs ranting about...although it could also be about her own questionable antisemitic comments.