It's the ignorance, stupid.

[Garrett78]

The Republican Party can only exist (much less get away with doing what it does) because of how stunningly ignorant the US population is.

The next Democratic president should declare that US ignorance is a national emergency (because it is). It's time to shine a spotlight on this massive, massive problem, highlighting the fact that tens of millions of people subscribe to utter nonsense or are just completely unaware (e.g., a recent survey indicated that ~30 million US adults have never even heard of Mike Pence).

I think the next Democratic president should announce at their first SOTU address a Presidential Task Force to tackle US ignorance. The task force would visit schools, analyze the media and interview people from all over the country, and produce a report, including recommendations on what needs to be done. Hopefully that would spur a conversation (about, for instance, how an embarrassingly large proportion of people in the US don't accept the reality of evolution, as compared to populations in other democratic nations, or about how incredibly irresponsible US media - as a whole - has become). And maybe being pointed about the fact that people are subscribing to nonsense will at least get a portion of the population to strive to become better informed. Maybe the media will be embarrassed enough to stop giving equal time to lies and obfuscation.

If nothing else, we can have a positive influence on future generations by prioritizing education reform and media reform.

Until we lessen ignorance, we'll keep spinning our wheels on climate change, systemic racism, equal pay and a woman's right to choose, wealth inequality, health care, our tyranny of the minority political system, and every other issue of great importance.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. How about just teaching civics in all public high schools?

[dchill]

2. And ethics. And logic.

[handmade34]

5. I call it

"critical thinking skills" much needed these days

[GoCubsGo]

6. Yes!

It's amazing how many people lack them. I'm shocked at the things people automatically believe, without questioning them.

[Garrett78]

3. Absolutely.

Along with media literacy (identifying and verifying sources, recognizing tactics such as the Gish gallop and 'projection', and so on).

Civics, media literacy and critical thinking skills can and should be part of every school's curriculum starting in elementary school. And we must make colleges and trade schools more accessible.

[BigmanPigman]

4. I did that with both my 6th and 1st graders.

They all voted on their own issues anonymously and the votes were collected, tallied, and read by them. I gave them ownership. I taught History, Geography and Civics secretly or I would get into trouble if caught. The teachers had phones in our rooms and had a system set up that we would relay, "The principal just left room so and so, get ready". We had to sneak teach. I even trained my students to hide their stuff under books or in their desks if they saw an adult coming up the ramp to our classroom. They weren't even allowed to have crayons one year. It was awful.

I wrote to the Education Dept in Sacramento about having curriculum change to teach Civics in 1st grade and they never responded. I am so glad to be out of that system.

[pangaia]

10. That is unbelievable !!!

You could not teach History, Geography and Civic ??

Already art and music have been cut..
Nobody can add or subtract..
People can barely speak english, much less chinese....


what do teachers teach?

common core... DUH !!!!

[DENVERPOPS]

16. Hey everybody

Public education as we knew it is becoming extinct, and that is just plain pitiful.

Much has already been done by the uber rich bimbo Trump appointed Secretary of Education.
She is doing in this administration to education, what her brother did in the W.Bush administration to Iraq.

The rich were pissed off for decades that the private schools they wanted their little darlings to attend didn't get federal money. AND, worst of all, the parents can't deduct the costs associated with sending their spawn to private schools.

For years, when I was in my early twenties, I saw a cute loop hole that Dr.'s used. They would have the kids come into their office for a few weeks in the summer doing file work. Then they would pay them ten to fifteen thousand for their work (1970 dollars). So they make the kids college education a business expense for their practice, and write it off......Cute

I don't know if it's true, but the IRS supposedly, after decades of abuse, clamped down and investigated the doctors tax returns. They supposedly ruled that the amount paid to the kids had to be in line with the number of days they worked, and what the normal pay would be for a file clerk.

If you sat down with a CPA, the list of loop-holes for the rich and uber rich that they would tell you about is ludicrous.

[BigmanPigman]

19. That's right.You have to teach the same thing at the same time as all the other teachers

No leeway if you have a teachable moment or something unexpected occurs and knocks you off schedule. We taught to the test. Period. First graders had to take standardized tests three times a year. They can't even fill in those bubbles on the answer sheets! They are only 6!

[Karadeniz]

17. GOOD LORD!

[TheBlackAdder]

13. Civics helps to make informed citizens, why do Republicans💩 want that?

[DENVERPOPS]

15. The problem with that

is that there are alot of 'Home Schooled" in the Republican audience. The home schoolers take out all kinds of normal shit....Civics, Science, Biology, American History, etc etc etc and substitute the scriptures, bible studies, etc etc etc. Seriously, no shit. I know people whose kids at the age of 18 cannot get jobs because the miserably fail the GED........

I had a pin in my desk drawer from the 60's. It said Ignorance should be painful.
I took it out and put it on my winter coat.......I've had many compliments on it.....

[Fyrefox]

7. The war on education...

Those on the political far right tend to be suspicious of education and the educated, or at the very least want education to reinforce their own rigid beliefs. They believe that you don't need education but rather "common sense," something that they feel they have in abundance. They don't believe in science, so can easily dismiss climate change and many other established facts. Some in my area actually boast of their lack of education as if that were a virtue...

[pangaia]

20. "common sense," is knowing you need a good education to know anything,

like needing "common sense,"

[Ingersollman]

8. Asimov

said it best in this article from 1980.

https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf

[McKim]

9. They Tapped Into American Anti Intellectualism

The republicans tapped into our time honored American Anti Intellectualism. This is a strong force since the days of Daniel Boone and before. The demonization of public education and teacher bashing has been a massive campaign for decades coming from right wing think tanks. It has been very successful. Education does need to be part of our platform and we need to message this in terms of economic opportunity for all pointing to European models of free or low cost university education.

[softydog88]

11. Good luck with evolution.

The god factor makes the teaching (or at least the acceptance) of evolution a no-go for far too many people in this country. I see the problem as no less than the future of much of the life on this planet. Without a wholesale embrace of science, we won't be able to conquer ignorance of evolution, climate change, nutrition, disease (stem cells, anyone?), environmentalism and a great deal more. This is why the worst-case projections are continually being updated ever more pessimistically. I fear that it is already too late. And I also fear that there are plenty of people who are OK with that, seeing it as the beginning of the second coming. Religion has done more damage than almost anything else.

ETA: I just read that essay from one of my favorite authors, Isaac Asimov. As usual, he was right on the money. /cliche And I am tremendously looking forward to Foundation on Apple TV! Some roles have already been cast.

[link:https://deadline.com/2019/10/foundation-lee-pace-jared-harris-cast-star-in-apple-series-based-on-isaac-asimovs-sci-fi-classic-1202765708/|

[CaptainTruth]

12. Yes. Ignorance & lack of critical thinking skills are root causes of many of our problems.

It makes folks gullible & easily manipulated, which is exactly what the GOP needs to maintain power.

[Perseus]

23. That is why republicans are so anti-education

anti-art, anti-literature, anti-anything that makes people think.

[PatSeg]

14. I remember when Obama was in office,

a lot of people couldn't name the Vice President. It was terrifying how many middle class Americans had no idea we fought the Germans in World War II or what the Civil War was about. Even if they weren't paying attention in school, they should have learned basics from popular movies and TV shows, but apparently all some people watch on television is reality TV. The rest of their information comes from social media.

The lack of curiosity is really disturbing, especially at a time when they have access to so much information at their fingertips. It is a huge failure in this country. Education should be a top priority for any nation, not obscene military spending and corporate welfare.

[The Wizard]

18. A large segment believes

Professional wrestling is a competitive sport and reality TV is based on reality. Of course the Russians exploited the idiocracy.
Thinking is hard while faith on the other hand....

[Perseus]

22. I will be sending the following you wrote as a quote, if you don't mind

"Thinking is hard while faith on the other hand...."

Very clever.

[The Wizard]

24. share with the Univese

[Perseus]

21. Right on the money

The new president must also minimize violence on TV and cinema, provide more fun educational programs on TV, educate people on good manners, which includes no more laughing at people burping, it isn't funny, its disgusting.

So much to do to educate the citizens of the USA, but well worth the cost, otherwise we run with the danger of getting another trump, but this time one with brains.