Are Americans Stupid?

High Over New Mexico, Roswell, NM, USA, 2018 (ET: “Take me to your leader.” Me: “Oh, please, you don’t really want to do that.”)

Today is JUNETEENTH!!! (Ask President Trump’s black Secret Service agent if you don’t know what it is.)

On to today’s post…

“Toute nation a le gouvernement qu’elle mérite.”

(Translation: “Every country has the government it deserves.”)

                        —Joseph de Maistre, 1753-1821

[Disclosure: I consider myself pretty middle o’ the road. I have voted Republican in some past elections for some candidates. I was a registered Republican in Arizona for a number of years. After Bush/Cheney and the Gulf War II debacle, though, I woke up and since then I have moved steadily into the more comfy bed of the Democratic Party. The GOP today, to my mind, has gone off the deep end and no longer resembles in any way the Party of Lincoln–or even the party of Eisenhower, or Nixon, or Reagan, or G. H. W. Bush, for that matter.

No worries, though, to be completely fair and balanced I give equal time to the Republican point o’ view at the end of this post. Read to the end to see their rebuttal of my perspective… along with a last bunch o’ words from George Carlin.]

So.. are they?… Are Americans really stupid?

Yeah, I know. It’s a pretty harsh question to ask if some people are actually stupid. I have to admit, though, these days it crossbows my mind more often than I’d wish… with Trump in our USA, Boris in the UK, and Bolsonaro in Brasil.

No, I’d say–in the case of our Trump–most Americans are not really stupid. But, for around 40% of the electorate, I do think their ability to think critically has been compromised by fear and misinformation (thank you, Fox News).

If you take a gander at the 538 Polls, Trump’s approval has stayed consistently between about 39 to 45%. It doesn’t seem to matter what he does, his numbers never seem to dip much lower than 40%. He really could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and his followers would likely say, “The guy/gal probably deserved it!”

More than Trump himself, it is this 40% that really has me worried about the future of our country.

Why support Trump?

To repeat, most folks aren’t stupid. They have their reasons for voting the way they do. So, what might these reasons be?

Here is why I suspect the 40% continue to support a President who is so, so, so, soooo obviously flawed (to be very generous). I’ll start with what I consider “reasonable” motives and move toward the… uh… less reasonable… AND I’ll add my two Lincoln pennies in brackets just after each:

 1. “His tweets and some of the things he says aren’t the best, but I support him so we can get more conservative justices on the various federal benches.”

[Fine. I can see your reasoning and it’s sorta legit–actually, it’s about the most legit reason I can come up with, assuming you sit on the far right. You are basically holding your nose with this Trump guy so you can get a more conservative judiciary/Supreme Court. Have you considered, though, the eventual overall cost of this strategy? Getting those conservative judges may well be costing us irreparable damage to the system of checks and balances and to our democratic institutions as Trump temper-tantrums his way through the federal china shop. You, unfortunately, have simply signed a deal with the devil. What good will your judges do if the country is reduced to banana republic status?]

2. “I wanted that big tax cut, and we got it!”

[OK, so if you say this then you are likely quite wealthy, a corporate CEO, a Wall Street exec, or some such thing. If you are very rich, sure, vote GOP. That is definitely a good reason to vote Trump. He certainly protects the rich. Personally, I didn’t see much from that tax cut. And this idea of “trickle down” economics is not nearly as effective as the GOP would have you believe. If you make less than, say, $90,000 a year (that’s 90% of us) and you voted for Trump for economic reasons, I’d say you have been conned and you are voting against your interests.]

3. “I’m against abortion.”

[Yeah, yeah, I get it. You are a born-again Christian and against abortion. You want to vote “pro-life”, which means, GOP and Trump, right? Well, maybe this is news to you, but I think all of us across the entire political spectrum, from “Radical” Bernie to “Snowball” Inhofe, would love to reduce the number of abortions in this country. But, have you ever considered that maybe the Democratic Party’s approach might be a much better way to reduce the overall number of abortions? (And a more “Christian” path, to boot.) To wit: quality sex education at all grade levels (including the emotional/relationship part of sex as well as the purely biological/physiological aspects), better access by women to family planning and counseling clinics, and widely available birth control. As to the Christian part, how anyone could support a guy who is the poster boy for anti-Christian principles is beyond me.]

4. “The Dems will take my guns away!”

[That’s bullshit. No one is going to take your guns away. There are too many out there already, stashed away in millions of little arsenals and gun lockers all across America. But, Dems do indeed want sensible gun control–something that the majority of Americans of all political stripes also want.]

5. “I was sick and tired of the status quo (Dems and Repubs) and I wanted to throw a figurative grenade into the dysfunctional political system–drain the damn swamp, I say!”

[I can totally agree with your frustration about the political parties. I definitely get it. I’m frustrated, too. Indeed, both parties are sunk throat-deep into the silk-lined Armani pockets of folks with bags of money and tons of influence. However, maybe give some thought to the current state of inequality in our country which is the key driving force behind problems across the board, from health to education to infrastructure. Then consider that a Republican vote tends to increase that inequality, while a Democratic vote stands a better chance of leveling the playing field a bit–and no, the Dems aren’t socialists, by a long shot. In fact, I would say the Dems of today are much like the Repubs of yesteryear, so much has our politics shifted to the right. I would suggest that the GOP is actually quite socialist–socialism for the rich, the banks, Wall Street, and the big corporations.]

6. “I have always voted Republican. The Dems are evil socialists!”

[Yeah, rah, rah for your team! Vote for them just because you aways have–just like supporting your high school football team; you do it without thinking much about it. Well, sorry, the Repubs have you conned and Trump is a master at using fear and anger (abortion! gun control! immigration! Hillary’s emails! Obamagate!) to get your vote. Fear and anger feels good, doesn’t it–much easier to poke at that loose tooth of resentment rather than consider a higher moral pathway, or engage in some basic critical thinking. As to the socialist thing (to repeat), on a worldwide scale, the current Dems are right of center. Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan wouldn’t even make it past the GOP primary process today–too liberal. So, I’d say that for 90% of Americans, a vote for the GOP is actually a vote against your own personal interests, even if it is…er, was… your so-called “team”. No, the GOP has not been the Party of Lincoln for a long, long time.]

7. “Illegal immigration is ruining this country and taking jobs away from Americans!”

[Well, a vote for Trump is definitely an anti-immigrant vote, I’ll give you that. Build that wall! (And Mexico pays!) Yes, we definitely need to reform our immigration system, take care of the Dreamers, set up a worker visa program, and so on (all things the Dems would love to do)… But I would strongly question this idea that these immigrants are ruining the country and stealing jobs. When was the last time you picked lettuce, or helped hang sheetrock, or cleaned a hotel room, or pulled weeds and mowed lawns in the rich neighborhood (or wrote software for artificial intelligence–not all immigrants are low wage!)? Oh, and there is no “invasion”, check the stats. I would suggest that your fear, anger and resentment are getting the best of you. (Thanks, again, Fox News!) Having lived in several countries around the world for extended periods, I personally love diversity and think varied human textures make a country vibrant, strong, and interesting. If you opine that these immigrants cost us more than they benefit us, think again. It is not a slam dunk as some would have you believe. For just one example of evidence to the contrary, see this 2018 article: Economic benefits of illegal immigration outweigh the costs.]

8. “Trump supports the military!”

[Yeah, right. Here is my take–me being a retired, career, USAF vet. In my mind, Trump is actually anti-military. Consider that our President is… a man who avoided the draft (bone spurs) yet disparaged war heroes (John McCain, the Gold Star family of Capt Khan, et al)… a man who pardoned a war criminal against the desires of the military leadership itself… a man who thinks he knows more than his own generals but didn’t know Finland was its own country or that the UK was a nuclear power… a man who took money from the military infrastructure budget to pay for a useless wall on the Mexican border… a man who doesn’t understand that NATO support is more important than a mere financial balance sheet equation… a man who undermined the Ukrainian people in their war against Russia, holding back critical aid for personal political reasons… a man who backstabbed our Kurd allies with no warning and no long-term plan… a man who is easily manipulated by Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong-un… a man who abrogates international treaties and arms agreements out of vengeance (Obama!) and for pure ideology rather than through careful study and consideration… and so on. The man has absolutely no integrity, no strategic plan, and no idea how to effectively deal with other world leaders. He has turned our country into a laughing-stock and we have completely lost what little moral authority (thus, moral leadership) we used to have.]

9. “I just want to own the libs. I’m tired of all the PC (political correctness) bullshit. Besides, Trump talks like I do!”

[Young white man, your desire to “own the libs” is based purely on anger and resentment. This is not good for making a wise political (voting) decision or your digestive system, Grasshopper. The GOP loves your attitude, though. They giddily collect your vote and the rich get richer; you get poorer. I will grant you that some liberals (Dems) ought to climb off their high horses and really talk to people on the street. They have taken too much of America (40%, to be exact!) for granted. The Dems need to get organized, get their asses in gear, and move us forward. As to PC… I guess you won’t mind if I grab your mother’s pussy, or call you white trailer trash, Cracker, dumb redneck, or Rebel loser… it’s all in fun right? (Don’t be so easily offended, snowflake!) And the way Trump talks? Personally, I want a President with something above 4th grade speech and spelling skills… I want a Prez who has actually read a few books, knows something of history and geography… I want a leader who actually studies and considers briefings from his own experts. Oh, heavy, heavy sigh.] 

10. To be determined. Ten seems like a nice round number, but I can’t think of a #10… yet.

If you support Trump, whether you like it or not, you support the following…

• An autocratic federal government; the Judiciary and Congress should be subordinate branches.
• A President who thinks that what is best for him personally is obviously and automatically best for the country.
• White supremacy.
• Male supremacy.
• A man who treats women (and his own daughter) as sex objects.
• That secretly paying off porn stars to cover adulterous affairs is AOK.
• The abrogation of international treaties and agreements based on vengeance (Obama!) rather than careful study and expert input.
• That Congress should no longer effectively “check” the Executive branch; no subpoenas will be honored.
• A ballooning budget deficit is no problem if it helps the rich and corporate classes.
• Tax cuts for the top 10% and crumbs for the rest (“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.“).
• The elimination of the Affordable Care Act (originally, a GOP idea!), with no replacement in the works, in the middle of a pandemic.
• No serious vetting of top executive branch and White House officials.
• Quid pro quo deals for personal political advantage.
• Asking international leaders to interfere in our elections for personal advantage.
• Using the Justice Department to attack your rivals, go easy on your friends, and protect yourself.
• Lying to the public on a daily basis.
• That everything the President says is “classified” and subject to executive privilege.
• That a President cannot be charged with any crime while in office.
• Gut-based decision-making rather than well-planned and nuanced strategy based on expert advice.
• Policy by Tweet (before the staff even knows!) rather than well-planned and well-considered policy based on expert advice.
• Reactive rather than proactive policy, derived from criticism by far-right commentators on Fox News, Breitbart, et al.
• Conspiracy theories with no basis in fact (if the President says it, it must be true–no need to fact check!).
• A President who doesn’t read history, has no real understanding of international affairs, and exhibits a 2nd-grader’s knowledge of basic geography.
• A President who has no idea what’s in the Bible.
• A President who doesn’t read. Period. Not even his own briefing documents.
• That might makes right, that law and order is the answer to racism, that looters will be shot.
• That all protesters are terrorists or criminals.
• The jailing of political opponents.
• Denegrating Gold Star families, war heroes, ex-POWs, and celebrating war criminals.
• Mocking people with disabilities.
• Decreased US moral authority on the world stage.
• Going it alone in the world rather than cultivating international friendships and alliances.
• A President who prefers dictators and strongmen to democratic leaders.
• The rich getting richer.
• An incredibly expensive wall on the Mexican border that takes money away from the military budget.
• Poor grammar and spelling errors from America’s “best” President.
• A President who refuses to take responsibility for anything–unless it’s positive, of course. (The buck stops elsewhere–not on my desk!)

What have I forgotten?

So…?

So… maybe some Americans are stupid after all??? No, I still don’t want to use the word “stupid”. But, brainwashed, conned, misled, blinded, misguided due to fear, anger, and resentment–YES.

Here is one last excellent read on this theme:

If You Still Support Donald Trump, I Instantly Know 8 Things About You, by Brian Moniz, April 19, 2019

The Republican Response

I promised equal time to an opposing viewpoint, so here you go.

The words below are from Steve Schmidt, Senator John McCain’s campaign manager during the 2008 Presidential Election cycle and now.

Yes, I know, he was a lifelong Republican up until two years ago when he renounced his membership in what had, by then, become the Trumpster Party. I think he would agree, though, that he still represents what the Republican Party ought to be, thus I include his statement here.

To wit:

Link to video version: This is the most succint… (Steve Schmidt’s Twitter feed, May 16, 2020)

The Last Word

I’ll give the last bunch o’ words to the comedian/poet/philosopher/word genius, George Carlin. This 11-minute routine, if you look beyond his delivery, is so close to the truth about us Americans that it hurts.

Warning: very strong language: