Educated fools
Road trip. Heading for Peach Tree in Arizona for a visit to the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon.
My first stop on Route 66 was for a drink in a bar next to a pawn shop. An ice cold beer after 3 hours driving through 111F.
The Pawn shop drew me in with the opportunity to buy an automatic rifle for $750. Or a 5 shot Derringer .22 for $500. They had enough stock there to start a militia.
Driving onwards through Arizona, I heard on local radio that Trumps approval rate is 87%. Whatever that means I don’t know, but apparently its right at the upper end of any leader at this stage in his Presidency. This was a radio chat show. Facts. (On June 1 it was reported at 43% but never mind.)
From when I first became aware of Trump until now, one thing I do know is that I vastly overestimated two things. One is the stupidity of the American electorate. I can’t remember what the other is.
But how stupid are we talking.
I have met many Americans from all walks since the 2016 election, reminded of the old Germany thirties stat;
‘1/3rd act, 1/3rd want to kill that 1/3rd while the other 1/3rd watch.’
I saw the obvious demographic of who might be fooled by the six feet four inch tall, 220 Lb genius. Donald J.
Redneck white boys, members of some Schizmotic Christian sect, lifetime members of the NRA, lovers of Country music and Nascar who would drink Coors light watching the head-butt brain damage game in bars flying the confederate flag.
It did seem like the 40 million who saw something in Trump that moved them to elect him were worthy of a sweeping generalization about their intellect. One could imagine their answers to questions like:
Favorite Country visited. Favorite language you speak. Favorite author. Your view on female reproductive rights. Jail time for drug users like Potheads. Black people are more likely to commit rape and burglary. We need more military to keep pace with changes in the modern world. Is Universal Health care an obvious and basic responsibility of government. Homeless people should get a job. Ronald Reagan was a great man who ended the cold war. Bush finished the job his daddy started. Bin Laden brought down the towers.
Trump likes Alex Jones. So what?
Colin Kaepernick should never get a job in football after what he did. The Donald is the best deal maker we have. Fact. That’s why he is a billionaire. So what if he doesn’t show tax returns. He doesn’t have a dog either and all other Presidents did. I like what he is doing for the Country.
It became so transparent that this 40 million demographic were droids played by Fox programming on a factory line frequency that I could usually tell ten things about any Trump voter five seconds after meeting and be right 99% of the time. (Except that one time when I thought I was wrong in 87.)
Here though is what I have now come to realize. Its not about the retard rednecks at all. They are what they are. And many are fine people I call friends. They act as their environment, their socio-economic educational opportunity and parental gene pool combine to prepare them. Nothing wrong with that. In England similar are called the working class. Salt of the Earth people. Unable to exercise any choice that interferes with the need to earn their daily bread.
It is the educated fools with disposable income we have to thank for Trumpism.
The graduate class of white folk who have achieved financial prosperity through a degree education that has prepared them to memorize and repeat. Memorize and repeat. But not to think independently. Critical thinking? Not so much. Memorize and repeat. Yes sir.
Many are doctors, lawyers and financial advisers. With some commonalities. They believe hard work brings reward. They measure success in material recognition. They believe in Jesus. In God they Trust. They know conservatism is the only way forward for the economy. They describe themselves as right-wing only to each other. They believe Jesus came to earth to save them and He will be back. In their lifetimes. They are That important.
They believe those who don’t believe in their belief will rot in hell for eternity and every one is certain this is the fate that would befall them if they turned their back on the Lord. Apostasy is not an option. The very thought tightens their stranglehold on anti-logic. The worst people, the least trustworthy and the daughter dating equivalent of bringing home a Black beau in the 50’s is bringing back an Atheist. Atheists are the single biggest threat to Americas prosperity. Atheists are the enemy. The electoral model will only ever allow a christian into the White House. That is non-negotiable in the electoral system. Anyone born in America can be President as long as they’re christian.
Trumper’s like Trump because of the important changes he is bringing. Draining the swamp. Look. The economy is soaring. He is a great businessman setting right those awful deals where America has to pay for other countries. He is the best deal maker. He is so canny he salutes NK Generals. So strong he can look at the sun eclipse without glasses. He understand how to get Mexico to pay for that Wall. No Country should have open borders with criminals flooding across. Only a wall will stop the opiate problem Mexico brought to America. Trumper’s are seldom widely traveled; maybe one or two European trips, mostly going from school to college straight to jobs where they tread the mill mouse-style for the next 30 years starting the savings plan for their kids college funds in the week after confirming the pregnancy.
They have never served in military themselves, being born in the social layer above the appeal of three squares a day, although they invariably thank those who have served, as long as they are not homeless. They support increased military spending because it creates jobs. The Defense budget is necessary and should be increased. They don’t care that the F-35 cost 1.5 trillion to develop. So what if we spend trillions of weapons that can never be used. It’s good for business. Defense Contractor shares form a part of their portfolio. As do Health Care Insurance companies. Universal Health care is a danger to the Capitalist way. Leave that to the Socialist/Communist countries. They don’t know the difference between Communism and Socialism. Just that Commies are bad although collusion with former commies is good. Putin is a savvy genius.
Our educated fools could not tell you even one of the five tenets of Islam. They invariably know less about the Bible than the average Atheist. They resent pay taxes. At the end of the day, they don’t say it out loud, but the truth is, Blacks are inferior. And are bad for property prices.
They have portfolios linked to the stock market. They business-network through Church. When asked about Trumps deviant moral character, the phase ‘give him a pass because….‘ will be heard. Women are treated as chattel servants but referred to as ‘happy wife happy life’ and rewarded with occasional trinkets including jewellery and battery cars.
It is this socio-economic sector we can thank for the rise in Trumpism; rule by greedy racist idiot. The upper middle class third generation Christian Conservative Republicans who have some inheritance to consider. They went to school and graduated by White privilege in which conformity to their parents values means, close your mind around your faith in God, country (the best ever) and family.
And always stand for the flag.
Nationalism plays a big part in their lives. They own several US Flags. Not all of them own guns but most support the NRA who are good people. They do not follow History. They do not know the death toll in the Civil War. They do not know how many were lynched. Or how popular public lynchings were.
They do not know that Thousands of American ships returned from Lend Lease deliveries to the UK in the war years empty; because US Government declined Nazi Germany’s invitation to the US to take Jews from Germany to America. How many Jewish lives were lost as a result? They have never heard of Nazi solutions to the Jewish problem before the final Solution. Like the Madagascar plan. ‘Who cares’ is what they say when information is uncomfortable. ‘Where do you get this stuff. Its wrong. I have never seen it on the news. It’s fake news.’ They do know there was a mass murder of German Jews but not that homosexuals were rounded up and disposed of too. Homosexuality is a sin. Those in their number who advocate most loudly against this Biblical sin of Leviticus death-penalty proportions will most commonly be found in a Motel room with a rent boy before praying for forgiveness. Invariably it was the Devil who led them astray.
Give me an honest tattooed redneck with a case of bud, a few buds in a case and a Ford F150, with his Fox news parroting awareness of foreign and local affairs any day of the week. Rather than a drone idiot with a degree and a selective memory. And a chastity belt on their ethical receptors. Who wants to be President and is at least a senior partner with expensively educated kids still voting Republican because its what God would do and they will always do what God says.
Whatever that is.
They know that for sure. Just not how to work out how they got to this place in their thoughts. The ethical shelf where the remains of their forebears in wilful harmful-educated-conservative-ignorance rest ever since Romans slaughtered thousands a day in their Colosseum for the amusement of their ethical forebears; the playable drone-moron tax paying upper-middle class. The educated fools.
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