Quite a while ago, I wrote a couple of pieces for ePluribus Media - one of which substantially cribbed from a diary here by ShaunGBR - which touched on the (measurable, perceived) insanity of the GOP. That "insanity" appears to be ultra-concentrated in today's manufactured Tea Party...so, I thought it might be appropriate to re-iterate some of the salient points.
The first piece was called The Devil Quotes Scripture: The GOP's Damning Hypocrisy. The more relevant one, which tapped (and credited) a post by ShaunGBR, is this one: That stubborn, stupid 30%...it's genetic.. I'm reposting the latter below, in its entirety.
I hope that any insights gained may lead us to somehow understanding how we can address people who are, literally, hard-wired to be predisposed toward attitudes, beliefs, manipulations & behaviors that are destructive to the potential advancement & creation of a truly civilized society.1
This particular piece - and some of the terminology & phrasing used - may have echoes of familiarity to some folks...particularly, anyone who has ever been oppressed or had their nationality, their civility, their humanity or culture questioned, suppressed, and acted against as a result of deeming them "uncivilized" or "unevolved." It is not a coincidence that crimes against cultures, religions, races or personal beliefs are often "justified" linguistically using pseudo-logic and clever-ish word constructs - there's an actual science to the application & use of such techniques. We've seen it blatantly taught as a political tool - remember Newt's infamous GOPAC memo from 1996? It's intent is to use language to control both the conversation and the people - and the primary targets are those who are described within that "stubborn, stupid 30%"...and use of language, particularly as explicitly taught to create hot buttons and dog whistles, has been an exceptionally potent tool when committing heinous crimes of genocide & oppression.
Another aspect of this is the opposite of direct attacks through coded & sensitized language - a complete absence of language and acknowledgement. It's what results in the "invisible" phenomena: invisible people. An example of Invisible People that has been ever more stark and ongoing has been the plight of our nation's own Native American people, which you can learn more about by clicking the tag Invisible Indians.
I'm hoping that everyone who reads through the piece below the fold will also take the time to go read the item referenced in the footnote about "civilization's African toll." I think it's a fitting end cap to the information provided below, and will help re-center thoughts on what "civilization" actually means, vs. the way the term itself has been misused & misapplied to accomplish ends that anything but civilized. (Mmm...kind of like "marriage"..."class warfare"...and others)
I'd love to hear from everyone who reads the piece, and get your feedback - regardless of good, bad or indifferent. Please keep it civil(-ish).
Namaste.
Originally posted on January 25, 2008 - 10:19 ET
That stubborn, stupid 30%...it's genetic.
Well well well...science marches on, and we now find some answers to one of the most puzzling questions that has haunted us over these past seven years.
Remember how, no matter what facts come to light and no matter how often George W. Bush and friends are caught lying or committing other crimes, they are invariably, inexplicably supported by 25-30% of Americans? We now have an apparent explanation for this.
I'd pointed out earlier that Conservatism is considered, by a government report, to be basically a set of neuroses.
In short, today's Conservatives (and hence most of todays Conservative Republicans) are a disease upon the land. It may sound harsh, but even the US Government knows what ill now infests the nation: the government even produced a report3 PDF concluding that "conservatism can be explained psychologically as a set of neuroses rooted in "fear and aggression, dogmatism and the intolerance of ambiguity."
As if that was not enough to get Republican blood boiling, the report's four authors linked Hitler, Mussolini, Ronald Reagan and the rightwing talkshow host, Rush Limbaugh, arguing they all suffered from the same affliction.
All of them "preached a return to an idealised past and condoned inequality".
Ouch.
That left us with the idea that the problems with crazies in the basement (and their stubborn supporters across the nation) were simply psychological. Now, however, a new report sheds more light on the source of their stubborn refusal to learn. It goes a lot deeper than a few mental screws twisted on too tightly in their heads -- it's genetic:
Tilmann Klein and Dr. Markus Ullsperger at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, believe they have found the genetic cause for this "stubbornness". They discovered that a single genetic mutation can determine whether people repeat their mistakes. This mutation, named the A1 mutation, is found in about one-third of the population and causes a reduction in the amount of D2 receptors in the brain, which are the docking sites for dopamine.
As for the rest of us -- those who learn from our mistakes, and realize that something isn't working or won't resolve a problem and change our minds in order to take corrective action -- we're just a little more fully developed, that's all. (Read that as "a little more highly evolved" if you will.)
The researchers theorized that the lower output of dopamine in people with fewer D2 receptors leads them to repeat their mistakes, while people with more D2 receptors comprehend that a certain action is a mistake the first time they carry it out and do not feel any desire to repeat it.
So, the next time you find yourself in a conversation with someone who is diehard Republican, don't fret -- that person obviously can't help him or herself. Their brain isn't as evolved or as capable as everyone else's.
Hat tip to ShawnGBR. I used the same two quotes blockquoted from his article, but please give his piece a read for a little more information and background.
:)
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Addendum, from the first comment on the original piece:
Even more bad news about that 30%
Scientific research shows that when confronted with contrary evidence, they just dig themselves in deeper. It's not only genetic -- it's psychological. And proven.
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Footnote
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1 And what, pray tell, does it really mean when one aspires to be civlized? I have an inkling, but it seems to be at odds with the commonly accepted usage of the phrase with regard to the concept of "advanced" human civilization. I went into a little detail here, back in July of 2007: Civilization's African Toll: From The Cradle of Civilization to a Grave of Indifference