Re: [Phys-l] The Perils of American Stupidity

[Marty Weiss <martweiss@comcast.net>]

Not ignorant?  just stereotypes?    

here's Palin:    "Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate." --a Tweet by Sarah Palin, which she quickly removed after being ridiculed for inventing the word "refudiate," July 18, 2010 
(from About.com... "Palinisms")

Palin on Evolution:   Sarah Palin suggests in her memoir, "Going Rogue" that she doesn't believe in evolution.
The New York Times reports in its review:...  saying she "didn't believe in the theory that human beings -- thinking, loving beings -- originated from fish that sprouted legs and crawled out of the sea" or from "monkeys who eventually swung down from the trees."



stereotypes?  Here's Christine O'Donnell  (Thank goodness she lost....)  
“You are telling me that separation of church and state is found in the first amendment?”

“Government shall make no establishment of religion,” Coons responds.

‘That’s in the first amendment? O’Donnell asks for a third time.

The crowd then reacts with quieted gasps and laughs as O’Donnell smiles.   (from MyFox Philly.com)


Then, there's Sharon Angle....on her views of Gays....    Sharron Angle, the Republican challenging Harry Reid for his Senate seat, was one of the people who founded the Independent American Party in Nevada in the 1990s. She circulated and signed a petition to get them on the ballot in 1992, a petition that included their primary political claim: "That many Americans have ignored the laws of God."
(from Scienceblogs.com... Sharon Angle's Anti-Gay Bigotry,  June 29, 2010)    Thank goodness she lost, too

Rand Paul on Gay marriage and teaching about Gays:   
The Republican candidate seeking to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate said Thursday the Education Department should be abolished in part to prevent schools from teaching about same-sex parents.

and from Think Progress.org:  This is libertarianism as a means to social conservatism, with gays here playing the role that African-Americans played in Barry Goldwater’s version of the argument. To libertarians uncomfortable with gay-bashing, Paul can say “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with lesbian parents, I’m just saying it’s not the federal government’s role.” And to social conservatives, Paul can say “this isn’t about taking benefits away from normal decent middle class people, it’s about keeping the homos in their place.”
(Washington Blade, Oct. 15. 2010)    and this guy won!  how sad.   

The latest on Paul:  on military spending, the scared-cow of most Conservatives:   
Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) probably surprised some Republicans Sunday when he said he would be willing to cut military spending.  (from various papers,  Nov, 7)

(i might even agree with him on this, but the military is supposed to be a sacred trust of conservatives...  The GOP is losing control of their own crowd and it's not even January yet.)

You want more?   

You can take all the issue you want, the fact remains that true Conservatism is dead.  Nowadays we have wing-nuts about to run Congress and the rest of the country into the ground with the nods and winks from those anti-intellectual/ antiscientific people who will cheer as these people take their oath of office in January.

Oh, just because most of the people are anti-abortion doesn't make that stance right.   In the 1940's most people supported segregation... that didn't make it right.    Less than half *believe* in evolution... that doesn't make them right.     The right wing (tea party or religious right two sides to the same coin)  says they are for less government, but only if their right-wing views are upheld otherwise they want constitutional changes to uphold their views based on their views of Christianity.   
   Efficient government?    Ask a Tea Partier where they want the spending cuts to be made... no answer.    Tax cuts and less spending, until it's something earmarked for their States that gets cut.   

Sad times for this country and for social progress.     

Marty
 




On Nov 9, 2010, at 5:02 PM, marx@phy.ilstu.edu wrote:

> I take strong issue with these posts characterizing the American Right as stupid and/or ignorant.  
> These is often the characterization made by people on the Left.  Since I am a Conservative and a 
> scientist, it is my experience that these characterizations are largely false.  While it is true that there is 
> somewhat less support for anti-global warming initiatives on the Right, it is largely because of the 
> politization of climate science and sloppy science.  The Right is not dominated by the Religious Right 
> presently, rather it is dominated by the Tea Party ideals, which are primarily based on the Constitution 
> in its present form,

That's right... they are literalists as are 
> the idea of smaller, more efficient government, a properly-regulated capitalist 
> economy, and reduced government spending.  The majority of Americans are anti-abortion, but neither 
> side of the argument is stupid for holding the belief.  The Tea Party is not promoting Creationism, nor 
> Intelligent Design.  I have also failed to see the anti-intellectualism in the Tea Party that you all have 
> spoken about.  You are speaking in stereotypes and repeating things you've heard without taking time 
> to find out what people really think.