Must've been Asleep At The Wheel the other day, missed this tidbit from Cowboy Kahlil
Howard Bashman points to something entirely different, yet I see a commonality. Nearly two-thirds of American adults can't name any of the nine sitting Supreme Court justices. What's the common thread here? First, let's consider a few more poll results from recent months.
* Approximately 40% of Americans believe WMDs have been found in Iraq.
* Approximately 30% believe Iraq used WMDs during the recent war.
* Approximately 35% believe Saddaam helped plan and fund the 9/11 attacks.
* Approximately 40% believe professional wrestling, and Fox News, are real.
Are you sensing what I'm picking up here? Intellectuals have a fancy-schmancy name to describe the phenomenon when beliefs ride roughshod over the known facts: cognitive dissonance. Old trailriders like myself usually ascribe it to the capacity for alkies sufferring from delirium tremors, so desperate for a drink that they'll drink the Sterno™, which makes them loopy as all get out.
Before any get the notion this is going to devolve into a snarky, wildly exaggerated essay, let me remind you that if you don't pass this essay on to ten close friends within the next half hour, you're likely to die from some horribly disfiguring disease, while those who do pass it on will receive more than $25,000 in the next 30 days, from Bill Gates... or even more from that unfortunate Nigerian fella trying to free up his fortune. ... * When provided 'proposed laws' that are actually our current Bill of Rights, approximately 55% of American voters would reject them.
* Approximately 60% of adult Americans consider Donald Rumsfeld's assertions to be credible.
* Approximately 65% of Americans believe actors are the characters they portray on TV.
* Two-thirds of the three Western religions (Christian, Islamic, Judaic) accord incredulous powers and respect to the doings of virgins.
* Approximately 70% believe Democrats are the biggest spenders.
* Approximately 75% can name all the contestants on every version of Survivor, including intimate personal details of their lives.
* Approximately 80% root for the biggest backstabbing betrayers on reality TV shows and Jerry Springer.
* Approximately 90% know the exact size of Pamela Anderson's tits, how many surgeries they've endured, and the dates the surgeries took place.
* Approximately 145% believe Dolly Parton's tits are real.
Now all but three of these thoughts and beliefs did not arise from the mouths of politicians. Instead, they're rooted in folks' interests and biases and represent the basic human psychology of the modern American. And yet, Democratic representatives and candidates typically prefer to stress truth, even when the truth requires that voters surrender their worship of popular mythology.
Me? I choose the money from the Nigerian fella, he's been trying to contact me for months now, but we keep playing email tag. One day we'll meet and I'll be a rich man...then it'll be Moveable Type for all my friends! Seriously, I have seen some these numbers before; it proves to me that the Media Whores are not doing their jobs, there is no other explanation, in fact in a recent survey of Hispanics, the r's found that many likely voters wanted to let Erik Estrada be a federal judge, since he did such a good job on CHiPs. Now that's sad.
posted by Jo Fish on 06.26.03 at 12:00 AM
Comments:
There's a well-known theory of education (isn't there always?) that relates that people (most people) (normal people) learn better with their eyes than with their ears. i know i'm like that - i learn something much faster if i can read it, as opposed to hearing it.
i can usually attain 80% comprehension of a written article on the first pass, especially if i have some basic knowledge before reading. But i have to take 3 or 4 passes through an oral instruction, such as an audio tape.
My ex-wife's lawyer's theory notwithstanding, this doesn't mean I'm a dope - I'm just like many other people.
I wonder if there's any correlation between the dumbing down of America and the loss of dead trees readers? Or are we finally in the end of times, where we are societally more interested in bread and circuses, and have even hired the barbarians to be our army? Just try to picture our Great Warrior Leader(tm) and Secretary of Everything Rumsfeld in wolf skin capes and horned helmets.
posted by: Lurch on 06.26.03 at 07:22 AM [permalink]