Blissfully Ignorant
In an "information age", it is shocking how little people know and how confident they are in their ignorance.
Happy Independence Day!
Just don’t count on your neighbors knowing anything about it, especially if they are liberals.
I've been a party to several discussions about the events of the past few weeks, particularly the Supreme Court decisions, as I am confident many of you have been.
The most interesting (and frightening) thing is the complete and total certainty some people have about things they know absolutely nothing about.
Some of these uber-confident low grade imbeciles will continue to argue with you even after you hand them the exact words written in the documents, their skulls being so thick reason can never penetrate.
Here are a few examples:
I actually spent nearly half an hour arguing with a woman who was 110% convinced "separation of church and state" was part of the Constitution and meant that no religious person was allowed to serve in government. I guess that should not be a surprise, I remember seeing a poll several years ago, the results of which indicated that slightly over two-thirds of Americans believed the phrase “separation of church and state” is in the U.S. Constitution. Newsflash - it ain’t.
I had a discussion about Griswold v. Connecticut with a person who had no idea that there is no "right to privacy" in the Constitution. This person also believed rights were given by government and they were listed in the Bill of Rights, not knowing that the BOR is about what government "shall" not do.
Also, in the same discussion, almost every leftie said that the right-wing of the SCOTUS had completely banned abortion and that women were going to be arrested. They actually believed that Thomas and Alito wanted to set up a theocracy controlled by religious people who would force their views on the nation.
One woman thought the Miranda recitation, "You have a right to remain silent" was part of the Constitution. You almost want to say: "Tell me you have never read the Constitution without telling me you have never read the Constitution."
People are completely clueless when it comes to how the Supreme Court works - several thought the Court decided on their own what they addressed, never understanding that there was a long process for cases to get to it AFTER going through several layers of lower courts first.
One argued with me that the J6 protesters assaulted the Capitol with guns, killed police and tried to kidnap members of Congress - she was shocked when I told her the only shot fired was by a Capitol policeman who killed an unarmed woman.
Perhaps the most stunning was that I met a young person (who just turned voting age) who thought Clarence Thomas was white and racist - imagine how shocked she was when I told her he was black and married to a white woman.
While there were some right-leaning people who didn't know some things, they were the most likely to ask questions rather than argue - not true with the lefties, they wanted to argue right off the bat, proving President Reagan was right when he said that it isn't that our friends on the left are ignorant, they just know so much that isn't so.
They should take an hour out of this 4th of July holiday weekend and at least skim our founding documents. I’ve noted this before that it isn’t difficult to read the Constitution. As a matter of face, if you take a look at the founding principles of America – the text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, you will notice three things:
They are short. The Constitution, the founding document of our Republic, contains 4,543 words, the Declaration has 1,458. If you figure an average of 500 words to an 8.5 X 11 page, that is 9 pages for the former and 3 for the latter. The key foundational documents for creation and governance of our Republic total 12 pages.
These documents are very direct and specific about the limits of the power of the federal government, employing words like “shall make no law” and my personal favorite, “no”.
They are written in clear, succinct, common language, designed to be understood by the common man. It was not even necessary for a colonist to be able to read, these words were easy to recite and comprehend because they are based on natural laws and natural laws are like gravity – it does not matter if you agree with them or even understand them, they still apply equally to everyone.
The left has no idea they are in a cult. They actually think they thought their way after careful research to each of their positions.
I've had a few of the same kind of back and forths with a couple of left leaning folks. In particular, one posted how he "couldn't imagine a thoughtful high school senior wanting to go to a college in a state that doesn't respect her bodily autonomy. I can't imagine a thoughtful woman wanting to move to job in a state that doesn't respect her bodily autonomy. Or a thoughtful husband or father wanting either either. "
For my response I noted, "I can't imagine raising a daughter that doesn't understand the consequences of her actions and engages in unprotected relations that could result in an unwanted pregnancy."
Like the swarming scarabs in the movie, The Mummy, with Brendan Fraser, I was swarmed by outraged ignorance of just what the Dobbs decision meant and called a lot of interesting names, given suggestions to do things that are physiologically impossible and told my parents had failed me.
It was all quite entertaining and I remarked that their ire and lack of factual understanding was entirely predictable and reminded them that ignorance is a choice and facts didn't care about their feelz, which met the expected shrill reactions. I counted at least four logic fallacies and a couple were repeated even after they were pointed out.
Honestly, I'm not sure I see a way forward when the likes of those only wanting their egos assuaged by a complete lack of understanding, rather than face some simple, but albeit unpleasant truths. As a nation, we're in serious trouble and from the J6 kangaroo court, to Russia, Russia, Russia, being everything from responsible for Trump to $5.85 a gallon gasoline, to Clarence Thomas wanting to turn The Handmaid's Tale into the American way of life, I don't see how actually fixing or recovering of limited federal government will cause anything but more hysteria.
I continue to have hope, but it is dwindling and I admit, there are days I want to join the burn it all down crowd.