How Did Some Americans Become So Stupid?

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Fnord
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30 Aug 2023, 5:26 am

MaxE wrote:

In my experience, people in positions of authority are more likely to be religious than the average person. Hopefully I can say this without having to explain in detail.

Religious, certainly.

But what beliefs do they express religiously? Lies, scandals, back-room dealings, compromise, et cetera.

"Religion" can be an expression of narcissism ("I believe in me"), and expression of devotion to a scientific idea ("We are starstuff"), or even personal relationships ("That girl sure has religion for that boy"). Anything that becomes an idol becomes an object of worship, which is the cornerstone of religion.

Fnord
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30 Aug 2023, 5:31 am

MaxE wrote:

Oneskarf wrote:

Some of you (but obviously not all) are bullies and bigots and you spew hatred on this board which is presumably designed to offer solace and community to vulnerable and hurting people. Not all of you, but enough of you - in enough threads.

Could you explain? I haven't seen this myself. Am I a bully or bigot and unable to see this in myself?

Not from my perspective, for what it is worth.

Some people feel threatened when their beliefs are not shared, or when they are ridiculed or parodied. No one has told Oneskarf that he could not express his beliefs here, no one has threatened him with assault for having or expressing his beliefs, and no one is discriminating against him for the beliefs he has.

Other than that, I don't 'get' his post either.

MaxE
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30 Aug 2023, 5:37 am

Fnord wrote:

MaxE wrote:

In my experience, people in positions of authority are more likely to be religious than the average person. Hopefully I can say this without having to explain in detail.

To me, religion is how authoritarianism manifests in our society. Authoritarians are more likely to seek positions of power, and voters vote for candidates who present as strong authority figures. Such people usually profess religious faith whether sincerely or not.

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TwilightPrincess
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30 Aug 2023, 6:42 am

Fnord wrote:

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:

We do still coexist with dinosaurs though. They're found in KFC buckets.

It sometimes amazes me to stop and think that life forms that once dominated the Earth could devolve into something so tasty.

Maybe Tyrannosaurus was tasty, too.

blitzkrieg
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30 Aug 2023, 7:50 am

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:

TwilightPrincess wrote:

There is an exhibit in the Creation Museum which shows humans and dinosaurs coexisting.

We do still coexist with dinosaurs though.

They're found in KFC buckets.

You got me hungry now, for dinosaurs. :evil:

naturalplastic
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30 Aug 2023, 7:41 pm

A T-Rex would do YOU right, and find YOU "finger lickin good"

Fnord
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30 Aug 2023, 7:43 pm

naturalplastic wrote:

A T-Rex would do YOU right, and find YOU "finger lickin good"

His arms too short to lick his fingers.

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30 Aug 2023, 7:46 pm

Fnord wrote:

naturalplastic wrote:

A T-Rex would do YOU right, and find YOU "finger lickin good"

His arms too short to lick his fingers.

Wouldnt prevent you from becoming ...McNuggets!

TwilightPrincess
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30 Aug 2023, 7:53 pm

But I want to know what a T. Rex would taste like.

naturalplastic
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30 Aug 2023, 8:01 pm

Crocodile meat reportedly taste like "a cross between beef and chicken". So its probably like that but more beef-like.

naturalplastic
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30 Aug 2023, 8:13 pm

Shocking moments of stupidity can strike at anytime.

Kamala Harris confused "infer" with "imply" at a congressional hearing. And at a recent speech ex POTUS Obama, no less, referred to the country he was speaking at, Scotland, as "the Emerald Isle". I am still embarrassed.

But if you look at the American GOP...it kinda DOES look like America is going down hill intellectually.

Here is an actual recording of an actual oval office conversation in 1969 between a GOP president and a conservative pundit of that time. Notice the high level ivy league level speech.

And here is a recent speech by a certain GOP Congresswoman.

Maybe standards really ARE falling!

cyberdad
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31 Aug 2023, 8:50 am

MaxE wrote:

cyberdad wrote:

goldfish21 wrote:

A better question might be why have so many of them been elected as public officials?

Cause and effect

In my experience, people in positions of authority are more likely to be religious than the average person. Hopefully I can say this without having to explain in detail.

Most of the people who fall for conspiracy theories (MAGA and QAnon for example) are proactively deciding to believe for their own personal agendas that have nothing to do with religion. There are millions who vote for leaders who espouse conspiracies that their guns will be taken away or that their neighborhoods will be over-run with blacks and Mexicans (the great replacement theory) or their children will be forced to learn to hate their race or think their kids will be influenced to change their gender or sexual identity :roll:

. Whether they believe these or not is irrelevant because they will never publicly admit their real motivations.

TwilightPrincess
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31 Aug 2023, 9:47 am

cyberdad wrote:

MaxE wrote:

cyberdad wrote:

goldfish21 wrote:

A better question might be why have so many of them been elected as public officials?

Cause and effect

In my experience, people in positions of authority are more likely to be religious than the average person. Hopefully I can say this without having to explain in detail.

. Whether they believe these or not is irrelevant because they will never publicly admit their real motivations.

Actually, most people who hold those beliefs (MAGA, QAnon, etc.) ARE religious. There's an overlap between people who follow fundamentalist, evangelical Christianity in the US (30% of the population) and those who believe in conspiracy theories. I've seen it at work with my family members who are anti-vaxxers. If people are taught from a young age to not believe evidence if they think it conflicts with their holy book, they may be more likely to adhere to other nonsense and dismiss valid evidence that goes against their biases. They also might not even know how to think rationally because their most sacred teachings are irrational (such as a literal interpretation of the creation story in Genesis), and they often have to rely on logical fallacies to defend them. It's the perfect storm to believe just about any nonsense.

It's a very complex topic, but I think that belief in conspiracy theories is largely rooted in religion. As movements get bigger, they can attract people who aren't religious and who are poorly educated and/or disenfranchised in some way. Being a conspiracy theorist is like being in a cult in a lot of ways. Anyway, bigoted beliefs regarding race and sexual identity are almost always rooted in religion in the US.

Human behavior can usually be understood when it is taken in context.

blitzkrieg
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31 Aug 2023, 10:57 am

naturalplastic wrote:

A T-Rex would do YOU right, and find YOU "finger lickin good"

Perish the thought! :lol: