Sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much obvious nonsense is taken as truth by seemingly sentient people. I can’t understand how anyone could look at smarmy con-people like Ted Cruz, Newt Gingrich, Nancy Pelosi or the ghost of Diane Feinstein and think, “Yeah, THAT person reps my interests!” How can the same people who claim to be “pro-life” also be pro-assault-rifle-for-everyone-who-wants-one-regardless-of-criminal-and-mental-health-history? How are there human beings walking around who seriously think Democrats eat babies and the Earth is flat?
I’m flummoxed.
But then I’m reminded that this is what happens when people feel that they can’t trust ANY source of information. When “the experts” have been widely exposed in their duplicity and haughty ignorance, people unencumbered by knowledge, intelligence, or ethical concerns rush in to fill the void. This seems like an improvement, but isn’t. It’s like an imperfect pilot being replaced by the drunk in row 17 who thinks landing a plane “can’t be too hard.”
My lifetime (b. 1962) has roughly traced the collapse of trust in the authority of American institutions. My first 18 months were spent in an optimistic nation ruled by a charismatic young president who seemed to have it all — until he was murdered in ways and for reasons that never really made sense. As a child, I watched the destruction of Vietnam, while “the best and the brightest” assured us that this was a worthy (undeclared) war that needed to be fought and would be won. It was neither.
George Carlin and others mocked the hypocrisies of power while Nixon assured the nation that he wasn’t “a crook,” and then was quickly revealed to be just that. Ronald Reagan championed “family values,” while ignoring his ex-wife, gay son, and the thousands of people dying from AIDS. Clinton claimed he hadn’t had sex with “that woman,” and questioned the meaning of the word, “is.”
The culture cringed in shame, and it kept getting worse.
The years since have seen massive scandals engulf organized religion, medical science, Wall Street, corporate power … even the freakin Boy Scouts! Take your pick. I can’t think of a single American institution of any prominence that hasn’t been exposed as corrupt, fraudulent, and/or outright evil.
Can you?
I’m not saying nobody lied before the 1960s. My point is that the lies were increasingly exposed, with the predicable result of widespread dismissal of any generally trustable, universal interpretation of reality.
In a way, this is a good thing. Skepticism is an expression of critical intelligence, and people should certainly be encouraged to think for themselves. But at the same time that these pillars of social cohesion have been toppled, many educational institutions have abandoned teaching students HOW to think in favor of teaching them WHAT to think. What were once bastions of American free speech have become industries of indoctrination.
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