The Dumbing Down of America
Donald Trump has made being stupid cool
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My brain hurts.
It doesn’t matter how many well-researched articles and books we read.
It doesn’t matter that our arguments are well thought out and supported by facts and evidence.
What does any of this matter if nobody wants to listen?
Our president is a malignant narcissist incapable of accepting coherent explanations or engaging in thoughtful debate.
He also allegedly can’t read.
So why should anyone else in this country care about being smart anymore?
Since our own Dear Leader can’t be bothered to learn the basic rules of our government, develop empathy, or curb his nonsensical word salad speeches, it’s no wonder the United States has gone the Idiocracy route.
Look, I know it’s not “nice” or “kind” to call people stupid, but in case you haven’t noticed, manners went out the door a long time ago.
For what it’s worth, writer and commentator John Fugelsang completely validated my Americans-are-stupid argument earlier this week on
’s podcast. Listen below:(I also cannot wait for John's upcoming book, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible From Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, which promises to puncture the hypocrisy behind American Christian Nationalism.)
But everywhere I look these days, there is an epidemic of ignorance. And it’s even coming from the people who are supposed to be, you know, smart.
(Okay, I know I promised not to talk about that ex-friend anymore, but I’m horrified that she included a tweet from far-right conspiracy theorist and all-around disinformation monster ALEX JONES in an article about the Central Texas floods. Jones had posted a non-sensationalist tweet about the floods, and of all the social media posts she could’ve included, the ex-friend chose this guy????)
I mean, how many examples of the stupidity must we endure regarding the Texas floods alone? Sen. Ted Cruz not returning from his Greece vacay until 72 hours after the floods hit. Local officials refusing to install water gauges and sirens in a disaster-prone area. The Trump administration cutting key roles at the National Weather Service. Complete and utter incompetence over at FEMA. Continued ignorance of climate change. The more I read about this tragedy, the more we will likely discover that the high number of deaths was preventable.
The only sympathy I have is for the children who died. Because they didn’t deserve to be swept away by uncontrollable floods before their lives even began. And they especially didn’t deserve to live under broken administrations they didn’t vote for. Even if their parents did.
I know that there are plenty of blue dots all over Texas, and I don’t want to make sweeping assumptions about voting blocs in Kerr County, but these photos suggest this was Trump country, all right.
Check out this excellent breakdown by TikToker @angerandautism on the consequences of Kerr County’s voting actions.
This is not the time for thoughts and prayers. It’s time for questions.
MAGA Republicans need us to be less educated because they rely on our idiocy to push their bills through. They flat out lie and engage in so much double talk that it's enough to make your head spin.
The stupidity problem is part of the insidiousness of what the administration is doing, especially in the form of the recently passed Big, Ugly Bill. Most Americans have terrible memories and can't see anything unless it's right in front of their faces. This is the so-called “beauty” of this insidious bill: Since most of these evil provisions won't kick in until after the midterms, Republicans are banking on the idea that Americans will ultimately blame the Democrats. Or just won’t bother trying to learn what exactly this awful bill contains.
As
wrote on his own Substack yesterday:“The biggest political divide in this country is no longer between Democrats and Republicans or liberals and conservatives. It is between the informed and the uninformed or misinformed.”
When I talk about being smart, I'm not saying that we're obligated to know everything. The smartest people in the world will always be the first ones to tell you that they don’t know everything. The key to being smart is a willingness to learn new things, to listen to other perspectives, and to consider someone else's point of view. MAGA Republicans won't and can't do that because their leader would rather sink the world’s economy/start a world war/throw a tantrum than admit he was wrong — or admit that he has incriminating ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Being smart isn’t just about knowing that the official language of Liberia is English (although that’s pretty stupid if you don’t know that). It’s also about owning your mistakes.
Being smart doesn't mean a perfect score on your SATs or graduating from an Ivy League school. It means challenging ideas, and analyzing ideas.
This TikTok video sums things up beautifully:
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You know what people learn from higher education? They learn inclusivity, how to respect other people, how to analyze evidence, question sources, and fact-check claims. They learn not to take everything they see and hear at face value.
But you can learn how to do all of those things without going to college, especially now, thanks to YouTube classes and other forms of online learning.
Or, you could just try having an open mind….
But, yeah, being smart does require you to not fall in line with whatever the Dear Leader says. If you see something, you gotta say something. And if you're not willing to do that, and you're not willing to speak out against millions of Americans being denied healthcare, or our government building a concentration camp in Florida, or ICE threatening the people of Los Angeles with a Gestapo-like show of brutality and intimidation, then no, you're not smart. You are stupid.
And I don't have sympathy for you because you know what you fell for? A reality TV star who convinced you he was a successful businessman.
Being smart doesn't mean going along with the status quo. It means asking questions if something doesn't smell right. And following up on those questions, if the answers don’t pass the smell test.
Being smart means taking control of our lives, of our safety, and of our democracy, and not waiting for someone to help us or rescue us. Superman may be flying back into theaters this weekend, but he's not coming to save us. And you know what? We don't need him. Because it's on us to save ourselves.
(Psst! Did you know Superman was created by two Jewish-Americans in the late 1930s? He fought Nazis from the start!)
That starts with taking a look at ourselves and our loved ones. Folks, if you care about the future of this country, then you gotta get smart. And if you're already smart, then it's time to stop making excuses for your uninformed loved ones and help them break away from the misinformation pipeline.
This starts with learning your history. Last week, I provided a ton of content that can help you better understand how fascism begins. Also, please subscribe to my recommended Substacks. I assure you these journalists do a way better job explaining the news than I do.
But you have to do the work. Period. No more sticking your head in the sand. If you care (and I assume you do, because you're reading my posts), then it's time to do something. And again, that starts with watching a few movies and TV shows. That's not so hard, is it?
Or, you could just swipe through this powerful Instagram carousel. Did you know that about 20,000 so-called “Christians” fully support the idea of alligators devouring incarcerated immigrants?
If that’s not enough to motivate you to get involved, I don’t know what will.
As always, I thank you for reading,
—Sarene
P.S. If you’re a regular reader of my work and wish to support my endeavors, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Or, you can give a one-time donation by buying me a coffee.
P.P.S. New article published this week!
HuffPost: “If You See This Word on a Man’s Dating Profile…Run”