The End of the Ignorance

Ok, so maybe it's not the end of racism as we know it, but it's certainly an important step toward shedding the skin of that diseased mentality. It took generations for the old guard to die out and for the country to start growing better people. And now they've finally come of age to vote. In that sense, we can begin to wave farewell to our ignorant past. And that is reason to celebrate.

In another sense, it's an end to ignorance and a victory for intelligence, as we once again have someone in the Oval Office who can put sentences together while possessing actual thoughts that go into framing them. Comedians may have to take the hit, but you can't say it hasn't been a good ride.

As for the GOP post mortem, McCain's concession speech showed actual moments of class and honor. My only thought: where was that class and honor during the election? And we should all celebrate the fact that he didn't let the Disasta from Alaska speak. I'm hoping that in a very private moment, he looked her in the eyes and said: "Thanks for trying. But now I'm going to have to ask you to shut the fuck up." If so, he was speaking for much of the country.

And for those who think it was sexism that brought her down -- sorry. No one sat her down before that Katie Couric interview and said: One last piece of advice before you go out there: Make sure to say many stupid things." She had every chance to dazzle the country and the world with her knowledge and grasp of the issues. But she didn't. Because she's a moron. Sarah in 2012? Have at it. In four years, she'll be a Jeopardy question all the contestants get wrong.

As for McCain's future, he now has time to go home and rest. To take a walk in the garden and try to rediscover what it is he stands for, and bring it back to Washington. Sure, he'll have to eat some shit, but there's still time to work on the legacy. Nothing we like more in this country than sinners who repent. We bought Nixon as an elder statesman. We'll buy damn near anything.

As for the Republican brand: who gives a shit? They either can stop being a bunch of dicks and work with the incoming administration to fix the many problems we face, or they can start aiming for 2012, just in case in four years we're jonesing for more mean, rich, clueless old white men.

But that's years away. Now is a time to come together. To feel hopeful again. Because there is much to look forward to. We will have an intelligent president who will surround himself with the best and the brightest. A Congress that may actually find its balls. And the fact that, sometime in the next year, Limbaugh and O'Reilly will probably whip themselves into states of on-air apoplexy so violent that they induce crushing, fatal heart attacks. Ok, that's not very gracious. Maybe just shingles and anal warts. After all, this is a time to celebrate.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Comments

[1dogs2]

Did anyone see Lawrence O'Donnell go after Pat Buchanan on MSNBC last night when Buchanan was once again defending Palin and refusing to acknowledge that her abysmal ignorance disqualified her for national office? O'Donnell suggested that the Republican party has been promoting ignorance for years and asked, to prove his point, whether Buchanan believes in evolution. Answer: he doesn't.

There has been a strong streak of anti-intel­lectualism in American politics for as long as I can remember (and I remember the Adlai Stevenson years). It has gotten worse over the course of my lifetime. I'm afraid it's a little early to conclude that this election marks "an end to ignorance and a victory for intelligence." Only a radical improvement in the quality of public education can have that effect, and Republicans will fight every effort to achieve that goal because they know that their success depends on the ignorance of a large part of the population.

[vegas9999]

And 40% of the dems still think Bush had something to do with 9/11

[1dogs2]

Rubbish.

[MSiddique]

While there is reason to be optimistic about the upper hand of intelligence over ignorance among the voters, I am not sure this election is proof of permanent change in that respect. The fact that ignorance (and its companion, intolerance) was being peddled (in very expensive TV time) is an indication that there is still some market for it; also note how many still think Barak is a Muslim, or that all Muslims are terrorists! And this is still one of the few countries where demand is being made that creationism should get equal time with evolution in the class room. The plethora of so called ‘Christian’ colleges are not that good a sign for the potential of victory of intelligence either.

We have to keep fighting for teaching rational thinking in our schools, we have to reward intelligence among our students, and we have to teach our children to value empathy for the others, etc. And, we must teach them why societies (i.e., collective living) exist, why government is necessary, why taxes are necessary, etc., i.e., we need to teach citizenship in our school, if democracy is to survive.