Dead Enders of the World, Unite And Take Over

I'm sort of shocked at how quickly the Republican base has gone from closing the "enthusiasm gap" to declaring victory and openly ridiculing the Democrats for even nominating Obama. All they were looking for was a reason to not vote Democratic, and however weak the argument, "W." Palin is all they needed. My question is, do they have the demographics on their side? Are there enough of the God, guns, and taxes crowd to make an insurmountable voting block? Because at this stage, that's what it feels like. It's not about character or policy. It's not about the war, or drilling, or what's good for the future of the country? It's about that George Bush mediocre middle, having its way regardless.

On a vaguely related topic, Thomas H. Benton describes the situation like this:

For academics on the political left, the last eight years represent the sleep of reason producing the monsters of our time: suburban McMansions, gas-guzzling Hummers, pop evangelicalism, the triple-bacon cheeseburger, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?, creation science, waterboarding, environmental apocalypse, Miley Cyrus, and the Iraq War — all presided over by that twice-elected, self-satisfied, inarticulate avatar of American incuriosity and hubris: he who shall not be named.

Benton wants to know why the current crop of college students is so poorly prepared for university level studies, but I think that mass stupidity says less about the present wave of Gen-Y kids than it does about the culture as a whole. It's not just the kids, it's their parents, their neighbors. It's everyone. Most adults I know are pretty stupid, including those in the business world, and they aren't bothered by it in the least. It's the old canard about Black kids not wanting to act "white." Well, most white folks don't want to be caught acting "liberal." It amounts to the same thing.

I've mentioned this before, and I'll say it again, fewer than half of adult American have attended College. Only about 25% finish with a degree, and fewer than 15% have advanced degrees. So if you want to create a world for smart people, professional people, people who are interested in ideas and the public good, you just don't have the numbers. Instead, as Benton notes, what you'll have are masses of people who are:

• Primarily focused on their own emotions — on the primacy of their "feelings" — rather than on analysis supported by evidence.

• Uncertain what constitutes reliable evidence, thus tending to use the most easily found sources uncritically.

• Convinced that no opinion is worth more than another: All views are equal.

• Uncertain about academic honesty and what constitutes plagiarism. (I recently had a student defend herself by claiming that her paper was more than 50 percent original, so she should receive that much credit, at least.)

• Unable to follow or make a sustained argument.

• Uncertain about spelling and punctuation (and skeptical that such skills matter).

• Hostile to anything that is not directly relevant to their career goals, which are vaguely understood.

• Increasingly interested in the social and athletic above the academic, while "needing" to receive very high grades.

• Not really embarrassed at their lack of knowledge and skills.

• Certain that any academic failure is the fault of the professor rather than the student.

They are no longer meek, but they will inherit the earth. Or at the very least an audition on the next season of American Idol.