Why Are So Many People Dumb?

 

Lately I’ve only scanned headlines from Daily Sound & Fury because they give me agita.  Many of the articles are filled with capitalized paragraphs and that makes me feel like someone’s yelling at me.  The other reason I don’t read through articles anymore is because there’s a sense of hysteria to them.  It’s pretty clear they want their readers to get riled up.

Having said that, I was intrigued by one of their articles and followed the link to the website.  The article didn’t shout at me and didn’t do anything more but give more information about why so many people are dumb.  Check it out.  It’s pretty enlightening. Made Stupid.

Back from a worthwhile read?  I wonder what everyone thinks about the points made in the article?  I think about my exposure to TV/radio ads when I was a child (say from 1957 until adulthood) and compare it with that of my children who are millennials.  Luckily, during their toddler and preschool years, Rich and I worked opposite shifts so that one of us was always home caring for them.  They had play-outside time and play-inside time that involved toys and for short periods, TV or gaming.

When I was a kid, I was outdoors right after breakfast.  When the streetlights came on, I knew it was time to go home.  I did watch some TV like the Mickey Mouse club and I remember that it did influence me.  I needed to be a Mouseketeer and I sure needed those Mickey Mouse ears.  I must have been somewhere between 3 and 6.  My parents did get me a pair of ears and I wore them every time I watched the show.

I was lucky.  I wasn’t exposed to as many ads because I didn’t watch a lot of shows.  One big reason is that the TV was rarely on.  My parents were Deaf, and there was no such thing as closed captioning then.  They didn’t watch TV because it was too difficult to read speakers’ lips and was a frustrating experience.  However, we did watch Walt Disney, Ed Sullivan, and Combat whenever they were on TV.  My dad had a little residual hearing and enjoyed the performers on Ed Sullivan.  Combat was action packed and easy to follow.  Disney? Classic.  I don’t remember any of the commercials.

As I got older, the jingles and other nonsense went in one ear and out the other.  I’m like that now.  I prefer streaming TV with no commercials.  If I watch regular TV, I read through the commercials.  I didn’t get into the cosmetics, shampoo, cleaning supplies, clothes, cars and any of that other stuff that gets pushed.  The ads are dumb.  They promise the viewer or listener some wonderful things will happen if you don’t buy blah-blah.  It’s all hype.

I am proud that my kids aren’t dumb because of ads they’ve seen.  I am sure it’s because they had a parent with them to help them discern what was true and what was just a come-on.

The article points out that millennials and Gen Z kids probably didn’t have a parent at home with them.  Nowadays in a traditional family, both parents have to work to stay afloat with rapidly rising food and gas prices.  Single parents might have to work two jobs.  Who knows what kind of guidance they get from child care workers or babysitters?

My kids escaped this but some Gen Z kids are growing up in states that regulate what a teacher can and can’t teach.  The curriculums are dumbed down and, as a result, these kids being protected from “offense” don’t learn all the topics they need to know.  Books are banned from libraries and schools.  Many of those books are excellent reads and are banned because ultra-right-wing politicians and parents don’t like certain words or concepts in these books.  If kids are lucky and interested enough, they may find some of these titles at their local library.

Schools fail many students because of restrictions and a lack of funding.  The Rethuglicans never seem to want to adequately fund education.  I learned civics in 8^th grade.  Students today don’t get much civics; it doesn’t seem important.  The article said that half of our citizens can’t name the three branches of government.  How can you make a good decision as a voter if you don’t know how the branches of government work?

Other dumbness that people pick up:

Vaccines prevent disease.  Some vaccines eradicated a disease.  They’re required to attend school.  Yet many adults refuse the vaccine against covid.  Why?  Vaccines are effective.  But it seems these dumb ones believe the misinformation they hear and see.

I’ve been surveying voters in three different states.  More than half support TFG.  I want to ask WHY?  I can’t.  I have to be impartial and just read the questions verbatim.    They are supportive of all the good things the Democratic candidate has done but they would still go with the Repub candidate. Why?  I think it’s because they swallow TFG’s Kool-Aid and become numb to facts.  They’d vote for this clown even though the things he & the Rethuglicans want to do would hurt them.  Duh?

I’ve come to the conclusion that too much media exposure is bad.  I think it kills thinking brain cells of little ones who begin watching TV at such young ages.  They are manipulated to need “this & that” and believe what they see is real.  Growing up, the strong influence of commercials can surely change the thinking process of people exposed to them for long periods of time—like sitting in front of the TV for hours.

The article lists way to reduce the stupidity level of kids in school now.  It’s a nice list but it means that people need to care and get involved.  Do they?  How many adults aren’t swayed by all the BS on the air and on the Net?  I wonder.

Next time I want to focus on anxiety: life happenings, politics, aging, and etc.