American society is insular. Americans are generally ignorant about anything that doesn't apply to their day-to-day lives. I've lived in many countries and I've found that we are the most ignorant people on earth. Consider the fact that it is assumed by almost every American that this is the greatest country in the world. This is a uniquely American phenomenon. We even use the word "America," not to describe the piece of land between Canada and Mexico, but as some sort of idea. When we say, "I thought this was America," we don't mean, "I thought this was the chunk of earth located between the Rio Grande and the 49th parallel." We mean, "I thought this was the best, fairest, most just, most democratic and egalitarian place on earth." Who in Switzerland says, "I thought this was Switzerland?" No one, and I know this because I lived there for a year.
This however is not our fault. The media, the education system, and corporations all help in keeping us ignorant . If you want some proof, compare CNN to CNN International. Or worse still, ask all your friends how many of them have a short wave radio (you'll be lucky to find some who know what a short wave radio is).
So what does all this have to do with Bush and his lying? Well the effect of a ruling class purposefully cultivating an insular, ignorant population is that the masses tend to believe what their rulers tell them. But worse still, their impressions of the world have no bearing with reality. A striking example of this is that most Americans think the government spends more on foreign aid than on the military. A second consequence of an insular and ignorant population is that they are unable to seriously question the assertions of the rulers. If Americans had asked a simple question like, "If Saddam is such a threat why do his neighbors in Turkey, Syria, Iran etc disagree with Bush`s war?" Lastly, our ignorance and insularity (through no fault of our own) predisposes us to irrational fear of attack from imaginary foreign foes. Only we could have fallen for the lie that Granada could strike at Florida. Only we could have believed that Nicaraguan forces might invade Texas. And only we could have bought the lies on Iraq (perhaps Syria is next). Rove knows this and that's why Bush will probably win again in November.
