Dumbed Down Madness
“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. “ – George Orwell
By
J.M. Hamilton (4-20-12)
Question:
When did the Republican Party begin to advocate “dumbing down” and
turning off on higher education?
Answer:
The GOP embraced this concept with the realization that those fortunate
enough to enjoy a higher education were fleeing their Party, and migrating to
the opposition by a considerable margin.
We get the
following from the April 1st New York Times, in a story by
Mr. Thomas Edsall, The Politics of Going to College:
“In 1984, those with college and advanced degrees
made up 35.3 percent of the electorate. Reagan’s strongest margins were among
the college educated, who backed him over Walter F. Mondale by a crushing
62.7-36.9 margin. Among all those with both college and advanced degrees,
Reagan won 58.7 percent, a landslide margin.
Jump to 2008. Even though those with
college degrees made up 27.9 percent of the population
that year, they cast 45 percent of the presidential vote. These voters register
and go to the polls in substantially higher numbers than the less well
educated.
By 2008, the
Republican advantage of the early 1980s among voters with a college degree or
higher had disappeared. Barack Obama carried this demographic with 54.1
percent. He beat McCain 50-48 among those with bachelor’s degrees, and by a
decisive 58-40 among the 17 percent of the 2008 electorate with post-graduate
degrees.”
But the bad
news for Republicans doesn’t stop there, women are amassing college degrees and
embracing knowledge in greater numbers then men; and as we all know, per recent
polls, women favor President Obama, over the presumed Republican nominee, by a
double-digit margin.
The Republican
Party is, of course, a two trick pony: But President Obama has shown the GOP
how to conduct foreign policy and eliminate thugs and villains (with stealth
and special forces; and not with Republican favored cost inefficient and amoral
defense policies, such as: ready to use standing armies; invasion, occupation,
nation building; and redundant budget breaking military departments and weapon
systems). As for the economy (the Republican Party’s second trick – and a
really nasty one at that), it is possibly on the mend under a Democratic
administration, despite enormous economic and fiscal head winds – see the “PS”
below. With a monopoly constrained economy possibly perking up, the GOP – via Rick Santorum – trotted out
the only issues that still divide Americans, forty to fifty year old social
issues. And in the process this regressive may have fired up his base,
but he ran off the majority of women voters and gave independents serious pause
and second thoughts. No wonder the GOP, in recent weeks, had done
everything in its power to shelve Mr. Santorum’s campaign.
And what did
the reactionary Mr. Santorum have up his sleeve next… the
disenfranchisement of women, or perhaps he wanted to bring back the poll tax?
Americans, the
educated and uneducated, Republican and Democrat, actually agree on a great
deal. Americans, red and blue, all want a healthy economy, fiscally sound
Federal and State governments, good roads and bridges, a responsible military defense,
and last but certainly not least, an affordable and decent education for their
children and grand children. And of course, there is America’s love
affair with entitlement spending. To which the astute and wise Barney Frank recently commented
in New York Magazine: “Yeah, they want more from government, but they
don’t want to pay for it.”
Today’s Republican leadership isn’t interested in what
unites us, however. No,
the GOP, in its present incarnation, is only interested in their core
constituency, the one percent; and of course, amassing and maintaining power at
your expense, trashing government (via “borrow and spend” policies), taking
away private and public benefits and democratic power from the ninety-nine – to
be redistributed to the one percent, and maintaining a dysfunctional tax system
that benefits their core constituency. Of course, key to their success is
maintaining their base within the ninety-nine percent – you see, there’s that
annoying thing for the GOP, and the plutocracy that pulls it strings, called
democracy.
The economic
ruin created by three decades of Republican Party’s laissez faire ideology – if Japan is any
example – will take decades to heal. But as mentioned in our last
editorial, the presumptive GOP nominee, “Mr. Severe,” wants to continue this
failed doctrine, so that his buddies in Private Equity can continue to raid and loot
businesses and short their tax payments, globally. Again, at your
expense.
To continue
their failed policies the GOP will continue to push fear, specious declamation,
and disinformation; but in order for this to work it must prey upon an under-educated
electorate. Ipso facto, with educated citizens fleeing the
Party in droves, the Republican’s core has become, in some instances: the
cerebrally enfeebled, the frightened, and under educated Americans. All
of which might explain the dearth of fresh ideas, and the uniformity of
opinions coming out of the Party.
Of course,
going back to the Greeks, the whole premise supporting democracy, as a form of
government, is that an educated and informed public will make up the
constituency.
No wonder Mr.
Santorum, and Mr. Severe, do not want you to enjoy a higher education….
Because, gosh darn it, you just might begin to engage in some critical thinking
and analysis on your own, instead of buying into the GOP’s failed fables and
fear.
As noted in the
aforementioned Times piece:
“President
Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob,”
Santorum told a Tea Party meeting in Troy, Mich.,
on Feb. 25. “I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to remake
you in his image.”
What both GOP
candidates fail to mention at the same time they are trashing higher education
is that they themselves, both Messrs. Romney and Santorum, are products of
higher education and in possession of rather distinguished degrees. My
guess is neither of these men would have made it quite as far in life without
their education; that is to say, neither appears overly gifted with natural
talent, mental or physical. Nor has either candidate mentioned the
general but often direct correlation between a higher education and income.
And only
somebody with fiscally and morally bankrupt economic and foreign policies would
resort to sophistry, and equate education with snobbery. Those affected
by snobbery are everywhere these days, including demagogues, the religiously
and socially intolerant, and the under-educated (call it reverse snobbery if
you will, but it’s all the same, it stems from pride).
But that’s what
today’s Republican Party has become, a toxic, bile filled bag, spewing anger,
animosity, and discord (just observe the Senate minority leadership).
For the good of the nation, let’s hope this current brand of GOP leadership
stays in the minority.
And
the truly sad part in all this? This nation needs a strong, rationale,
and dare I say it – highly educated – Republican Party to keep the Democratic
Party’s worst impulses in check.
But for the
moment, if you happen to be highly educated – or just like to keep up on
current events, engage in learning for your own betterment, or even perhaps
like to think for one’s self (shucks, maybe your just curious) – than per the
GOP, you are defective, obviously an elitist, and quite possibly a threat to
the Republican Party’s hopes to retake the White House.
We should heed
well Mr. Santorum’s advice and continue to let him and the plutocracy call the
shots, after all look what it has yielded: their enrichment and our
enslavement.
(What’s
that? Doubt you’re enslaved? Look at the never ending rounds of
bank bailouts at taxpayer expense – both front and back door; rising gas prices
at the pump – when this nation has all but achieved energy independence under
the Obama administration; and the declining purchasing power of the
dollar. These are all examples of taxes upon your wallet that you have
little or no say over, but must contend with and navigate daily. But
unlike the President, the Congress or the Senate, you can’t vote for the CEO –
or the CEO’s pay package – at Goldman Sachs, Exxon, or Citi…not even if you’re
a stockholder.)
It is so much
better to deny learning, keep your blinders on, and embrace ignorance and
bliss, so that you can be more easily exploited by the plutocracy that has
hijacked the GOP, and thanks to the Supreme Court, the democratic process
itself.
P.S.
“During
times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
–
George Orwell
Interesting
how yesterday’s toxic assets, CDO’s and MBS, have earned renewed cache from
their creators the banks, as well as hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity,
and wealthy investors. The fix must be in… therefore, don’t count on
seeing any universally restructured mortgages, debt forgiveness on same, or a
spirited economic recovery anytime soon. This same cadre – populated and
managed as often as not by GOP heavy hitters – has done everything in its power
to run President Obama out of power, via capital strike, commodity speculation
and manipulation (read: inflation), and with a little help from Big Oil,
sending gas prices at the pump ever higher. A President Romney would only
encourage this group, and embrace the very policies that trashed this nation
and Europe in 2008 to the present day.
Copyright
JM Hamilton Publishing 2013
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