Be warned now, this is going to be a rant. It isn't often that I rant, but I have been feeling this over the last few days and have been doing some research on this particular subject and that is why it has taken me so long to get this diary ready to post.
We currently live in a society where the personal lives of the famous and infamous are more important to us than our own political system and our own personal well being. We live in a society that thrives on programs such as Jerry Springer, Maury, The Kardashians, The Real Housewives (of whichever locale Bravo is featuring this time), and so forth. In the meantime, we have Fox News propagating this lack of knowledge and anyone who isn't happy with the state of the current American intellect is considered to be an "elitist" and un-American and so forth. We even have people in this country who have the only desire in their lives to be a "reality show star" and to behave as badly as possible while they are on the "reality show" so that they become a star. It is thanks to this Dumbing Down process that we are a nation more interested in Anthony Weiner's penis photos and the latest gossip coming out of Hollywood than worrying about the fact that our people are without jobs and worrying about the fact that the GOP is waging a war on women.
Please note, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with "reality shows", nor do I believe that there is anything wrong with talk shows. My problem is that we, as a nation, have become so immersed in these "reality shows" and talk shows that we are helping to contribute to the bad behavior just as well as conservative powers that be are. These shows are simply easier and cheaper to produce than real entertainment.
I truly believe that the main reason for the Dumbing Down of America is to ensure that American workers are more docile and easier to manipulate than people who actually, ya know, know things. (Shocker) I do not believe that this is a real conspiracy, simply a bunch of things that came together the wrong way that the Conservatives are taking advantage of.
Unfortunately, many, many Conservatives will try, all while calling liberals "elitists", to insist and prove that whatever problems there may be with America and the Dumbing Down of America is the fault of those same liberal elites who want to ensure that you are dumb, meanwhile they are smarter than you. I have been reading The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt (I have the PDF on my computer if you would like a copy, let me know and I will email it to you) which insists on page 416 re: The Workforce Investment Act of 1998
“Few bills which we consider will have a greater impact on more Americans than the Workforce
Investment Act (H.R. 1385) we pass today.”—Sen. Edward Kennedy (Congressional
Record, July 30, 1998, p. S 9490).
[PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Truer words were never spoken in relation to gaining total control
of the citizens of the United States and turning our nation into a fascist state. If you think
this is an outlandish statement, read this article. What you are about to read is the absolute
truth which is backed by more documentation than you could ever hope to read.]
On July 30 Senators Edward Kennedy (D) MA, Jim Jeffords (R) VT, Mike DeWine (R)
OH, Paul Wellstone (D) MN, Christopher Dodd (D) CT, and Jack Reed (D) RI, unanimously
passed by a voice vote the Conference Report on H.R. 1385—the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998—the latest version of “The CAREERS Act.” A voice vote only requires a majority of
those present to pass or reject a bill. The report was then sent back to the House of Representatives
for review.
According to the Congressional Record, only six senators spoke on the floor. Due to
the fact that no roll call vote was taken, it is not known if any other senators were present
in the chamber at the time.
Late in the afternoon the next day, July 31, without any notice, when most congressmen
were on planes headed home, five congressmen, again by a voice vote, unanimously approved
H.R. 1385, paving the way for President Clinton’s signature on August 7. The five
congressmen were William Clay, Sr. (D) MO, Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R) CA, William
“Bill” Goodling (R) PA, Dale Kildee (D) MI, and Matthew Martinez (D) CA.
Again, due to the fact that no roll call vote was taken, no one knows how many other,
if any, congressmen were present at the time of the vote. These 11 men and President Clinton
have just created and signed into law legislation which converts America’s free market
economic system to a controlled or managed market system—the same type of economic
system which was established by Nazi Germany.
[Ed. Note: President Clinton, on August 7, 1998, signed this controversial school-to-work/job
training bill, the final version of the infamous CAREERS Act which grassroots activists had
worked hard to kill for over four years and had thought they had put to rest in the summer of
1996 when Senator Trent Lott refused to bring it up for a vote. These same activists were taken
by surprise when Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, proclaimed conservative from California,
appeared out of nowhere like a stealth bomber, reintroduced and assisted to pass similar legislation
in April 1997—this time titled The Employment Training and Literacy Enhancement Act
of 1997. Activists had little time to mount an effort to down this nasty stealth missile, allowing
it to go on to the Senate which, in turn, passed it in August of 1998.]
IMHO, it is more a case of if we are dumb, we are more likely to be unasking, willing participants of the Conservative class war, as well as the unasking, willing fundie warriors against any thought that doesn't fit into their box. As per this site:
The two other elements are anti-intellectualism and class resentment that serve as an accompaniment to and a mask for racism. (Think, for a moment, about the filth that would have been spewed if the first black presidential candidate had a pregnant, unmarried teenage daughter.)
There has always been a strong correlation between religious fundamentalism and lack of education, although saying so leaves you open to charges of "elitism," now the dirtiest of words. The better educated Americans are, the more likely they are to be affiliated with religions that have made room for secular knowledge (even if the latter contradicts some "sacred" book) or adherents to no religion at all. About 45 percent of Americans who have no education beyond high school believe in the literal truth of the Bible, while only 19 percent of college graduates do. Two-thirds of college graduates, but only one-third of high school graduates, believe that living beings have evolved over time. This is the main reason why fundamentalists are supporters of kindergarten-through-college right-wing schools: in those institutions, fundamentalists can control the message. The sneer in Sarah Palin's voice when she calls Barack Obama a "professor" is most evident when she speaks to people who share her enthusiasm for old-time religion and her contempt for education and learning.
Thank you for your time and for allowing me to vent and feel a bit better.