Our New Idiocracy, Or Why It's Easy To Be Ashamed To Be An American These Days
"FREEDUMB!!" ain't what it used to be
I’m ashamed to be an American.
No, that’s overly simplistic. Those six words don’t do justice to the depths of my anger, disappointment, and unrequited love for my country.
It’s complicated.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m proud to carry an American passport. I’ve lived overseas and traveled to enough places to know that I’m incredibly fortunate to be enjoying the protection that passport affords me. I’ve found myself in situations that almost certainly would’ve ended much differently had I not been carrying an American passport.
Yes, I’m conscious of how fortunate I am to be American, but that’s an accident of birth. That means I’m a member of the Lucky Sperm Club. Except for a spin of the cosmic roulette wheel, I could easily have emerged from a womb in Libya, Madagascar, or North Korea.
So when I say I’m ashamed to be an American, it’s more than I’m ashamed of what my native country has become. America has become the property and playground of the ignorant, arrogant, and intolerant. Religious zealots believe they possess the right to control women's reproductive decisions. White supremacists believe they, and ONLY they, should have the right to determine the direction and future of the country.
We’re afraid to teach our children about slavery, race, and sexuality. We’re terrified of those who don’t look, act, believe, think, live, and/or love as we do. Worse, Conservative White Christian heterosexual adults have invested heavily in passing these fears along to their children, thus perpetuating the cycle of fear and ignorance.
Some red states are more comfortable with forcing 10-, 12, and 13-year-old rape victims to give birth than allowing them to have abortions. ‘Cuz every life is precious, don’tchaknow? And every pregnancy is a gift from God.
Even if it’s rape? And the rapist can claim parental rights? Great, so now a rapist can choose the mother of his child. Who says eugenics isn’t a thing, eh??
It’s now far easier to obtain an AR-15 than an abortion in many states. As a country, America averages more than one mass shooting (more than four people killed or wounded) per day. We lead the world in “thoughts and prayers” offered up for the dead and injured in the wake of horrific tragedies, yet we’re bringing up the rear when it comes to taking action to prevent those tragedies.
The National Rifle Association owns the GOP. Because of that, Congress has refused to spend federal money researching gun violence. As a result, not only is America awash in guns (We have 4% of the world’s population but 40% of the world’s guns), but we don’t know what we don’t know about gun violence.
We have a robust anti-vaccine movement that spread so much unvarnished high-grade bullshit about COVID-19 vaccines that thousands died because they didn’t trust the vaccines to be safe. Millions refused to take mask mandates seriously, and many Republican governors refused to declare mandates because of “FREEDUMB!”
The YERNOTGONNATELLUSWHATTODO!!! resistance led to thousands dying because of yet more “FREEDUMB!”
The truth is that too many of my fellow Americans are just f*****g stupid. Why sugarcoat it? Most of them are Trump supporters. They’ve been brainwashed into distrusting doctors, scientists, intellectuals- in short, anyone with any expertise on anything. Their attitude is “my ignorance is every bit as valid as your knowledge.”
No, it isn’t. If you didn’t finish high school, you’re not doing brain surgery on me, but I might have confidence in the neurosurgeon with 15 years of schooling and training and 20 years of experience. Your ignorance is NOT equivalent to his (or her) knowledge)…and you’re not getting anywhere near my cerebral cortex with a scalpel, knowhutimean??
America now closely resembles the set from Idiocracy. While the GOP embraces this reality, Democrats are at a loss about what to do. They see what’s happening but can’t appeal to voters on the same level of ignorance as Republicans. It’s why conspiracy theories like QAnon are thriving on the Far-Right. Yes, they’re silly and pointless, but millions of under-educated and intellectually bereft (and White) Americans have traveled down those rabbit holes and have yet to return.
Democrats think they can appeal to voters with facts, figures, and accomplishments, but Republicans have succeeded by telling them at whom they direct their fear and anger. Too many Americans aren’t motivated by what the government has done for them. They’re susceptible to being told to worry about The Other and live in fear of where the next threat might come from- usually from someone not White, Christian, Conservative, and heterosexual. It’s Muslims, or transgender people, or Liberals, or…it’s a seemingly endless list.
One party’s trying to determine how to make America a better place. The other is working overtime to keep Americans scared and stupid. Unfortunately, scared and stupid appear to have the edge. You don’t have to overthink to fear and hate someone. It’s a more significant intellectual challenge to evaluate what the government is doing and decide to what degree you’re satisfied or dissatisfied.
Too many Americans would rather react than think. That’s why Donald Trump’s populism remains so popular. He provides his eager masses with the bogeyman, tells them why they’re bad/evil/nasty, and lets them do the rest.
And Trump knows he’ll never go broke underestimating the collective IQ of the American electorate. Because stupid, at least in America, is a barrel with no bottom.
