Sad as it is disturbing.
In a new Pew Research Center poll released on Monday, studies show that Republicans, especially those who are younger and have less education, see college and higher education as having a negative impact.
Over the past two years, the share of Republicans and Republican leaners who view the impact of colleges and universities positively has declined 18 percentage points (from 54% to 36%), and this shift in opinion has occurred across most demographic and ideological groups within the GOP.
Surprising to some, the view of younger Republicans who think college is a good thing has declined even more than older Republicans. Thus, we are seeing the effects of a Republican-led government that would seem to love nothing more than to keep Americans in the dark—and a president that helps perpetuate that agenda with his choice of Cabinet members.
Since 2015, positive views of colleges and universities have fallen 11 points among Republicans with a college degree or more education (from 44% to 33%) and 20 points among those who do not have a college degree (57% to 37%). There also have been double-digit declines in the share of conservative Republicans (from 48% to 29%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (from 62% to 50%) who say colleges have a positive effect on the country.
Sean Rossman with USA Today reports:
Experts say the disparity is guided by media portrayals of universities as well as the protests against conservative speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter.
It's not a surprise Republicans are weary of universities more than Democrats, explains University of Delaware professor of communication Danna Young. The real revelation is the dramatic shift Republicans' negativity has taken over the last two years. In September 2015, during the infancy of the presidential election, more than half of Republicans (54%) said our universities lend a positive effect.
"Suddenly the vast majority see them as a negative," Young said, "which is really shocking when you think about what universities are for and what they do."
You can read the entire Pew Research Report here to find out more about other views by both parties regarding churches and media as well.
So, could education in a true democracy ever be a bad thing? The late Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights advocate Nelson Mandela didn’t think so.
"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world"- Nelson Mandela
A “weapon to change the world”? Good, Lord. The GOP just won’t stand for any of that.