Freedoms

Americans cherish their freedoms. They will fight for these freedoms and vociferously use the first freedom of these to let you know when they feel threatened. One of the freedoms that didn’t make the official list is the freedom to be stupid.

Stupidity comes in many flavors but the worst of these is willful ignorance. We will readily accept the weak-minded, neurologically impaired, or those upon whom ignorance is the result of environmental factors, but lazy stupidity is unforgivable. Societal hurdles aside, some level of truth and knowledge is available to all. If you can read and use the Internet, a fountain of information and knowledge is readily accessible.

One of the inherent problems with this vast resource is the difficulty of discerning fact from fiction. When we are faced with conflicting versions of a topic, our baser instincts and prejudices will sometimes dominate the conversation. Lies and misinformation can become accepted truths when wrongly filtered by these frailties of the human condition. Unlearning bias is not a simple task and such bias exists throughout our population without regard to social status.

If you need evidence of how a lack of education and a culture steeped in bias can be dangerous, you need look no further than those “man on the street” interviews, known pompously in Latin as vox populi, or voice on the street. Most are done for comedic effect as our nation’s stupidity is laid bare. These mostly simple questions elicit sometimes bizarre responses.

Of recent note are those available on YouTube done outside MAGA rallies where social and racial biases are exacerbated by our current education system. Some good interviewers throw out a softball question, get a misinformed response, and then use the interviewee’s response to show their errors in logic. When finally confronted with their mistake, many will simply double down and state, “Well, that’s still how I see it,” or something to that effect. I wonder where they learned the technique of reinforcing a lie with repetition?

A pop-culture reference might be found in Forrest Gump whose low IQ did not prohibit him from making profound proclamations. “Stupid is, as stupid does,” is a quote of wise observation but not education. It suggests that actions and behavior are better indicators of intelligence than empty words. This indicates that even among the highly educated, ignorance is not an exclusive trait.

One other form of stupidity that should not be tolerated would be inflicted ignorance. Withholding education or restricting the quality of education in an attempt to perpetuate our American caste system is a shameful effort. Breaking the vicious cycle of poverty is hard enough without creating hurdles that needn’t exist.

The caste system in India has existed for over 3,000 years and dictates an inherited social hierarchy that withholds opportunity for those not entitled. A similar system exists in America perpetuated by tradition and advanced by wealth and power. If you want an education at the best of our schools you will need money and connections to gain acceptance.

One subtle form of control within the American caste system regarding education lies within a group using the right of free speech as a shield. They promote free speech when it benefits their ideology but are the first to push to ban books that might not coincide with their personal worldview.

The other form of advancing the status quo or providing greater separation between their own social/financial status and others is through the use of public versus private or charter school education and restricting access to the finest colleges and universities. One means to accomplish this is to place financial barriers of such height that only the already wealthy may avail themselves of that education.

Certainly, there are great minds among the poor and our nation would be better served by taking advantage of such resources. This would however violate the invisible rules of the current caste system so such opportunities are limited. While we can’t cram vast numbers of new students into a limited number of Ivy League institutions, we can upgrade existing public resources and make them affordable to all competent applicants. Students seeking advancement shouldn’t be burdened with a crushing debt that follows them into retirement. If we can find room for individuals with athletic prowess on the playing field, certainly the educational playing field can be leveled for all.

Limiting education has its consequences. Would Donald Trump be Donald Trump without his gullible minions? His rise to power was predicated on his ability to use his powers of persuasion to convince the poorly educated that he was the answer to all of their problems. He said so much during his 2016 campaign in a Nevada speech in which he stated, “We won the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.” The crowd cheered. Ignorance is bliss.