Is America Stupid?

I recently read an essay in "The Atlantic" by Jonathon Rausch:

How American Politics Went Insane

Yes, it uses loaded language for its shock appeal, but the analysis is serious. Some of the diagnosis and prescriptions for remedies are not obvious, and some are even counter-intuitive. Where many voters are longing for viable third, fourth, and fifth parties (for obvious reasons), Rausch is suggesting that our two parties' weaknesses are a large part of our problem. He even recommends allowing MORE funding to go directly to the parties as a counter to the destructive effects of the dark-money Super-PACs.

Viewing our nation's behavior as if it were an individual person (like a corporation), I asked myself if the US of A might be viewed as "stupid". To answer that question, I think it is necessary to figure out what it means to be "stupid".

Now, we all know stupid people. they are out there among our family, friends, or co-workers. In fact, an unscientific poll by Scott Adams (of "Dilbert" fame) showed that the two most irritating things about jobs (both ranking nearly 25%) were "working for idiots" and "working with idiots". We certainly don't give the people around us IQ test, so how do we determine which people are stupid?

As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does".

What in particular is it that stupid people do that makes them stand out for us? It's the way that they fail to deal with problems. Problems large and problems trivial. They fail at managing credit card debt, and they fail at driving through roundabouts. They even fail at recognizing how incompetent they are. They cannot find solutions to a problem, or even reasonably identify a problem in the first place. It's also quite apparent that the person's IQ does not always relate to their dysfunction.

From that definition, does the nation know as "The United States of America" qualify as "stupid"?  In one situation after another, it seems obvious that the answer is a resounding "Yes!" If you take any of our many issues of conflict, you will see what I mean.

Firearms Violence; Climate Change; Poverty; Collapsing Bridges; Drugs:

We have brilliant researchers who are able to bring together theoretical research and practical experience to give guidance to our policy makers. This doesn't happen since those brilliant enough to recognize and solve problems are not funded or are ignored. This is not limited to one side of the partisan divide either. In the area of policy surrounding support for the indigent, conservatives have some of the better ideas. As Ronald Reagan once said, "I think the best possible social program is a job". 

Our stupidity is not a result of shortcomings in our people. It is from our loss of community. In particular, we (all of us) have placed the desires and goals of our ever-shrinking circles of interest ahead of the needs of "We, the people of the United States". When each of us has defined his or her tribe in terms of 5 or 6 non-negotiable ideologies (pro-environment, pro-choice, pro-immigration, pro-prison reform, pro-universal healthcare, pro-legalization of marijuana, pro-spotted owl) we have defined ourselves into corner that makes 90% of the country look like enemies. (P.S. Again, this ideological slice and dice applies to any combination of left, right, libertarian, authoritarian stances).

So, as my Mother always told me, never complain about anything unless you have at least a suggestion for a remedy.

How do we get ourselves out of this mess? 

I think that Mr. Rausch (link to The Atlantic at the top of this) has important things to say about the treatments for what ails us. One major step would be for the people in positions of leadership to begin treating each other as honest servants of the interests of all Americans. As long as they treat each other as liars and thieves, we citizens are going to follow that lead.

And, speaking of following, our nation is suffering from a fever of "radical individualism" that must be calmed. This is nothing new. 100 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt warned of it in a famous speech "Citizenship in a Republic". His message may be more important today than it was in 1910. We need to recognize that our rights and freedoms are an inheritance from 240 years of other peoples hard work and sacrifice. We also need to know that those privileges come with responsibilities toward all our fellow citizens.

Our political system is broken, and this has made us stupid. Until we regain our respect for our political system (and the people who make it up), we will remain stupid.

Harvard Divinity School on the Web

Today I'm beginning the 4th lap of the HDS series on "World Religions Through Their Scriptures", and it's the one I've been most interested in: Islam. We began with a general overview of the methods for studying culture and scripture, followed by studies of the Christian Bible and the scriptures of Buddhism.

Obviously, most of the material on the Bible was a familiar review. Even much of the Buddhist material is comfortable, with concepts like "karma", "yoga", and "mindfulness" breaking out into western culture. I expect the material on Muslim cultures, Islam, and the Quran (Koran) to be fascinating for two reasons. First, it is a journey into a great unknown. Second, there have been many barriers built up through misunderstanding and misinformation over years of sometimes violent conflict. Clearing away misunderstandings in order to get at the useful and fascinating realities underneath will be a challenge.

This is a FREE course offered by Harvard Divinity School through it "edX" system for "Massive Open Online Courses". You can find the introduction and information for this series of courses here:

Religious Literacy - Traditions Through Their Scriptures

  It's self-paced, which is a good thing since I was three weeks late getting into the Christianity program. (It was running at the same time as the last Cursillo weekend). There are two lessons presented each week, for a total of 8 or 9 for each of the 7 courses overall. I'll probably have a few posts on this particular course over the next month.