Bush and Stupidity

First this op-ed:

The S factor explains Bush's popularity

By NEAL STARKMAN
GUEST COLUMNIST

Millions of words have been written as to the motivations of voters. Particularly in close elections, as in the 2000 presidential contest, pundits and laypeople alike have speculated on why people voted for whom. The exit poll has been a major tool in this speculation.

But the speculation misses the mark by far. It's increasingly obvious, for example, that none of the so-called theories can explain President Bush's popularity, such as it is. Even at this date in his presidency, after all that has happened, the president's popularity hovers at around 50 percent -- an astonishingly high figure, I believe, given the state of people's lives now as opposed to four years ago.

What can explain his popularity? Can that many people be enamored of what he has accomplished in Iraq? Of how he has fortified our constitutional freedoms with the USA Patriot Act? Of how he has bolstered our economy? Of how he has protected our environment? Perhaps they've been impressed with the president's personal integrity and the articulation of his grand vision for America?

Is that likely?

Granted, there are certain subsections of the American polity that have substantially benefited from this presidency. Millionaires and charismatic Christians have accrued either material or spiritual fortification from Bush's administration. But surely these two groups are a small minority of the population. What, then, can account for so many people being so supportive of the president?

The answer, I'm afraid, is the factor that dare not speak its name. It's the factor that no one talks about. The pollsters don't ask it, the media don't report it, the voters don't discuss it.

I, however, will blare out its name so that at last people can address the issue and perhaps adopt strategies to overcome it.

It's the "Stupid factor," the S factor: Some people -- sometimes through no fault of their own -- are just not very bright.

It's not merely that some people are insufficiently intelligent to grasp the nuances of foreign policy, of constitutional law, of macroeconomics or of the variegated interplay of humans and the environment. These aren't the people I'm referring to. The people I'm referring to cannot understand the phenomenon of cause and effect. They're perplexed by issues comprising more than two sides. They don't have the wherewithal to expand the sources of their information. And above all -- far above all -- they don't think.

You know these people; they're all around you (they're not you, else you would not be reading this article this far). They're the ones who keep the puerile shows on TV, who appear as regular recipients of the Darwin Awards, who raise our insurance rates by doing dumb things, who generally make life much more miserable for all of us than it ought to be. Sad to say, they comprise a substantial minority -- perhaps even a majority -- of the populace.

Politicians have been aware of this forever; they cater to these people. They offer simplistic solutions to complex problems. They evade directed questions with non-sequiturs. They offer meaningless, jingoistic pap instead of thoughtful policy. And these people, the "S" people, eat it all up with a ladle.

I don't have a solution to this problem. To claim I did would belie my previous arguments. But I do have some modest suggestions that might provide a start for discussion: an intelligence test to earn the right to vote; a three-significantly-stupid-behaviors-and-you're-out law; fines for politicians who pander to the lowest common denominator and deportation of media representatives who perpetuate such actions.

It's well past time that people confront this issue, no matter who's offended. We are on the way to becoming a nation of imbeciles. I'm certain that a plethora of "George W. Bush" jokes is already being circulated in every capital of the world. We can stop this sapping of our national integrity but we must do it soon, lest the morons become the norm and those of us who use our brains for more than memorizing advertising jingles are ourselves ostracized from society.

Let's start talking. Let's bring the S factor out of the closet and into the daylight where we can all see it, gulp at its hideousness and finally make serious attempts to bring it to bay. Link

This op-ed is an over-simplification. It is not so much stupidity, as it is the very obvious fact that Americans by and large, lack critical thinking skills. Joe and Josephine six-pack swallow all manner of rubbish and harbor downright weird beliefs because of this. Early adoption into fundamental religion, and parents that are/were unable to equip their children to cope with the novelty of the world using logic and reason are better explanations as to why Bush is held in relatively high regard. Of course such rigidity of thinking is part of being intellectually bereft, but it is not the sole domain of those of less than average intelligence. Many really bright people like Bush, and harbor many other beliefs strongly despite a complete lack of evidence.

Religion, and 'group think' had some form of adaptive advantage in our distant past. Now, it has become a hindrance to continued scientific inquiry and all other higher order thought processing. Richard Dawkin's 'meme' hypothesis can show how people believe -- even otherwise high functioning people -- can hold utterly bizarre beliefs. I would say that Bush's popularity is due to a combination of factors.

Anyone that is well known is bound to have some level of popularity, regardless of what they may have done. The media, which is largely the propaganda arm of Bush Administration almost never fails to show 'their guy' in a positive light. Media consolidation is a huge hindrance to offering the whole spectrum of thought on any given issue. Corporate giants have morphed Bush into an 'everyday' guy, when it is clear that Bush comes from American royalty. Our media have transformed this 'fortunate son' into the guy next door, albeit with a speech impediment.

Yes, of course in any population 50% of the populace is of below average intelligence, but this fails to properly address Bush's popularity.

What we need in this country is true, open and elevated debate. It doesn't take a high IQ to sift through facts in a reasonable manner. All that is required is access to alternative viewpoints and a willingness to take a bit of time to assess options on an even playing field. People are busy. They want easy answers to hard questions. The biggest success of the Bush Administration -- and I would argue Republicans since Teddy Roosevelt -- is to frame issues in a black and white nature, when in reality everything is nuanced in shades of gray. If you do not believe that this is true, name me one issue that doesn't require a trade-off of some kind. There isn't one.

I am willing to concede that a person's intelligence does play a factor in how they view Bush. A person's cognitive and reasoning abilities color everything which one comes into contact. Yet, I think it both unreasonable and irresponsible to offer the simplistic conclusion that Bush's popularity is due to the stupidity of the masses. Bush has been merchandised to a degree that he has ceased to be anathema to half of our citizenry. It is no one person's fault that he/she lacks the proper skills to make a valid quantitative judgment about a political person.

Remember, this 50% of America is just as sure that Bush is a positive force, as the other 50% is that he is altogether something different. Some people cannot experience cognitive dissonance. This is true regardless of intellect, but is not neutral to those that have well developed critical thinking skills. Such people deal with cognitive dissonance in a healthy way. As citizens, it is our duty to try and bridge the gap and knock down those long held beliefs without evidence.

In closing, I'll offer a bit of pure bs speculation. If Bush fades in the polls, Karl Rove and his handlers will off up a myriad of demonstrably false assertions about their guy that will disappear under the least bit of scrutiny. These will be new revelations that have already been 'put out to pasture' by those not beholden to the GOP(Goering's Own Party) The reason that the GOP resorts to propaganda is that it works.

It should be obvious that this is an issue that I find fascinating. I hope that you at least made it through this screed.

For further reading, I recommend the following web material:

Iain Murray's : Living with the consequences of innumeracy, or Why Americans suck at math

A bit on memes, by Susan Blackmore

An Introduction to Psychological Warfare and Propaganda