The Dumbing of America

In 1994, when Forrest Gump famously observed, "stupid is as stupid does," no one expected that Forrest would become the poster boy of the Republican Party. Nonetheless, as an integral component of its "just say no" strategy, the GOP is steadily dumbing down the level of American political discourse. Meanwhile, the US is faced with numerous challenges that require our citizens to use their brains.

2009's Republican Party doesn't have ideas and doesn't appear to believe they need them. Rather than proposing an alternative to Obama's push for healthcare reform, they have made outrageous claims about the program - it will lead to euthanasia and support abortion on demand - and suggested that it's part of an organized push towards "socialism." Similarly, Republicans didn't propose an alternative to Obama's (successful) stimulus package but instead deplored "government bailouts." The Stimulus package passed the House without a single Republican vote, causing the normally conservative Financial Times to observe, "The more necessary public spending seems to be, the more strenuously Republicans oppose it. The party's political tactics are as hare-brained as its economics."

Traditionally, Republicans have played to dumb; now they're encouraging it. 58 percent of Republicans either think Obama wasn't born in the US or aren't sure. Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin have become the poster girls of the GOP. Fox news dominates TV news ratings and Rush Limbaugh rules the radio airwaves.

During the campaign, Barack Obama observed, "it's like these guys [Republicans] take pride in being ignorant." (Obama was responding to the GOP mocking his suggestion that Americans could increase their automobile miles per gallon by maintaining their tires at the correct pressure.) Obama's assumption was that Republicans were the victims of pernicious group mind; each day the GOP spin masters broadcast a new theme and the Republican faithful dutifully parroted the Party line, no matter how inane. Candidates McCain and Palin played their part knowing their outrageous scripts rallied the Republican faithful. Eventually Palin suggested that Obama had associated with terrorists, which generated images of the Democratic candidate as a jihadist and a flurry of death threats.

Over the course of the Presidential contest, the Republican credo degenerated to "whatever works." And, the GOP leaders discovered that stupid worked as effectively as fear - in fact, they complemented each other.

Deliberately dumbing down the message works well with the Republican base because, compared to average Americans, the GOP rank-and-file tend to be poorly educated and dogmatically Christian, living in a culture that is hierarchical and rules based. They seldom read books or newspapers - although many read the Bible - and get their news from conservative talks shows or Fox News. Republican voters don't lack intelligence but rather they don't have a tradition of thinking for themselves. Although they come from a culture that has been dumbed down, they don't recognize it because everyone around them acts the same way, shares the same worldview, and believes the same proverbs: "George Bush was a good President because he kept us safe." Stupid is as stupid does.

After all, it's only a small step from believing that God created the world in seven days to accepting the assertion that healthcare reform will lead to socialism. If a true believer has faith that the Bible is literally true then they can also trust Rush Limbaugh. If they believe the Rapture is imminent then they can ignore warnings about global climate change or the proliferation of nuclear weapons. If a trusted leader tells them that Obama is the Antichrist then they can comfortably oppose everything the President proposes, even go so far as to threaten his life.

US history informs us that there has always been a strong anti-intellectual component in American culture. And it's common for radical conservative movements to get their strongest support from the white, rural, Christian south. What's unusual about the GOP "dumbing of America" campaign is that it has become a national strategy,

There are two serious problems with the Republican game plan of celebrating stupidity. It is anti-American because it defiles our treasured myth of the triumphant individual. "Dumb is beautiful" runs counter to the American ethos of self-sufficiency, of taking pride in a culture of individuals that stand on their own two feet, and think for themselves. Ultimately, it replaces the individual with the mob.

The other problem with the Republican strategy is that it is counter productive. America is beset by terrible problems: a staggering economy, a war against terrorists, the threat of global climate change, and diminishing energy supplies, to name only a few. To survive in an increasingly difficult world, the US must tap the intelligence of all of our citizens. We need to challenge ourselves to function at a higher level and not be satisfied with sappy slogans and emotional formulas. This is the time for Americans to question authority not pay obeisance to it.

Comments

[spartanladkenny]

I agree that a lot of Republican voters are dumb (not to be confused with stupid) but Democrats aren’t too far behind. I have lived in Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Illinois and I’ve had my share of right-winged nutjobs. Ironically, the so called enlightened Obama supporters only “spoke” of ideologically sensible things without having an understanding of the impact of various policies of the government. It is HUGE step forward compared to the Republicanism that we’re discussing but its still dangerous to the Republic.
A small incident from the Democratic primaries: A friend of mine who is a huge Obama fan couldn’t stop telling me how much better he was than Clinton. I agreed with him but asked why he thought so? Amongt other things he told me, Obama’s healthcare plan is better than Hillary’s. I asked, what is the difference? He didn’t know because he hadn’t read either of the proposals. I happen to be one of those people who print out important policy documents to read in my spare time so I had copies of each of them in my folder at work (Yeah..I waste time on the internet at work like right now). I handed them to him to read. Next day he was a little perplexed about the healthcare issue because other than the “mandate” there wasn’t much of a difference between the two proposals.

[SewaneeLeftist]

Very good article, Mr. Burnett, and all too true, sadly, especially about the Dumb is Beautiful strategy. It reminds me of Sen. Roman Hruska of Nebraska defending one of the ideological Supreme Court nominations Nixon made. The guy, maybe Carswell, was mediocre at best, leading Sen. Hruska to argue that mediocrities need representation on the court, too (with the Shrub appointees, incidentally, he got his wish, just much later than would help Carswell).

The world is more complicated than ever before, so attacking intelligence and intellectual activity -- one of the strategies used to attack Al Gore, who didn't suffer fools well nor wore his learning lightly -- has the effects you'd expect -- we get the Shrubs and the Cheneys as our elected leaders.

Attacking fact, reality, and evidence is also having the effects you'd think it has. Science doesn't have all the answers, but that's a way different thing from throwing out ALL the answers, which the right's strategy has become. Refusing to accept ANY answers because their sources are our President and his party is just as blind and just as bad for our country.

Intelligence and intellectual activity are some of the greatest resources our country has, and to return to our anti-intellectual history, and even make it worse, is a disastrous trend. Intelligent people are almost as easy to lampoon as the intelligen­t-challeng­ed, but we need the intelligence, and we don't need dumb -- they don't get seats on the Supreme Court....

[lgillooly]

Prpoaganda only works if you saturate the country and repeat and repeat the lies until they become the truth. see talk radio. We have allowed 91 percent of stations to spew right wing propaganda. After the national shows are on (Rush, Beck, Savage, Hannity etc) the stations have a local parroting host to repeat the talking points. It is effective and very dangerous for our Country. Whoever chooses the stories and frames the debate essentially controls the message. It worked for Germany's Goebbels quite well.

[dynwit]

I live in a red state and since the election I've noticed that Republicanism has actually become an integral part of the culture around here. People just throw lines from Glenn Beck into the normal conversation without even being aware that it might be a politically controversial thing to say. They just expect everyone to believe the same things they do. The junk spewing forth from Fox News has become so "naturalized" that no one questions it anymore. It's very, very disturbing. For the first time, I can actually see how N @ z i Germany came into existence. Once you've spread your message that deeply into the culture, it's almost impossible to bring any common sense into public discourse.

[babaann]

I would like to know how you deal with the people you are around every day.

I also live in a red state (Tennessee), and need any advice you can give.

[dynwit]

I'm afraid I don't do a very good job. I've had to cut myself off from friends and family, people who've known me for 16 years. They think they can call me a "socialist" or a "t*rr0r!st" to my face and I will just agree with them! Of course I'm a socialist!! Of course I want to destroy America! If Fox News tells you so, then it must be true! Disregard everything you've known about me for 16 years, disregard the fact that I've brought you dinners when you were sick, that I've driven your children back and forth from school for years and years, that we've gone to church together and to parties together. Disregard our entire relationship, just because a stranger on Fox News tells you that I represent ev!l incarnate! It makes so much sense!! I'm afraid that I have lost my temper and called some of my best friends the very names that they first called me: anti-American, anti-Christian, radical fringe, etc. Now we h@te each other.

My husband does a much better job. Recently I watched him sit down with a colleague at a dinner party, and when the colleague started saying things like, "We'll have to ext*rm!n@te all the M*sl!ms, of course," my husband just kept his cool and tried to convince him that there are other alternatives in the Middle East. No one's minds were changed. But at least they are still talking to each other.

[dynwit]

I posted a reply, but it went to pending. If it never shows up, just know that I'm wishing you the best of luck and lots of patience. We all need it right now.

[bujudude]

The GOP has long been opposed to public education and has fought to eliminate the Dept. of Education. The more ignorant and uninformed their base is, the easier it is to manipulate them into voting against their own interests and survival. Since Nixon's infamous "southern strategy", the conservative spin masters have been able to count on fear, hatred, ignorance, racism and homophobia to fire up their base and paved the way for the birthers and tea party movement.

Since this also works in energizing the anti-tax and anti-government crowd, it helps blur this lines between those who are genuinely racist and those who simply hate the government, oppose all things Obama, and still cling to the illusion that G.W. Bush was one of our greatest presidents.

[jcorrington]

Very well said Bujudude.

[johninoregon]

I second that.