Originally Posted by
gumbomoop
Good post, important points re slippery slope, heartbreaking family tensions, era of disinformation and alternate facts. I’ll defer any comment about treason, though I agree with your assertion. I’ll stick to the bolded.
“People have to own the information they consume.” In our present situation, “we the people” have to own the mis-and-disinformation we consume.
Willful ignorance is dangerously stupid.
Among the things I admired about conservatism was its attempt to balance a liberal emphasis on rights with a reminder about responsibility. But Trumpism is not conservative. Indeed, Trumpism has adopted the very worst form of late-20th century liberalism’s emphasis on rights talk, radical individualism. “I’m an American. Nobody can tell me what to do. Take your mask and shove it.” Trumpism’s radically individualistic, reactionary populism — a popular movement to return to a mythical past — is not faithful to conservatism, which is why those who have remained actual conservatives founded the Lincoln Project and similar groups. Trump’s enablers in Congress, virtually every single member of the House and the vast majority in the Senate, have been irresponsible repeatedly over the past four years. They have defaulted as leaders, becoming cowed followers of the increasingly radicalized, increasingly irrational Trump Party voting bases.
So, the people. We have begun to see reports that a shockingly high % of Americans — Trump supporters, non-voters, and plenty of Dems, too — report that they pay little or no attention to politics and political issues. They are ignorant of even the broad outlines of policy issues that affect their lives. They are otherwise occupied, busy with life, working multiple jobs, committed to their church, raising children, helping neighbors, and ... watching sports.
The upshot, though, is policy/issue ignorance, deep ignorance, much of it willful, the product of choices made or choices avoided. If one makes a choice to believe the MSM is “all lies,” while Fox, OAN, Newsmax, and Q have discovered the hidden truth, one has willfully chosen to make oneself ignorant. But what you don’t know about crucial issues can harm you, even kill you. The line between ignorance and stupidity wears so thin as to become meaningless. A line is crossed, has been crossed, from unconcern to danger.
That danger is not limited to those who practice willful ignorance. For their surrender to ignorance/stupidity also immediately endangers those who are informed, have some elementary understanding of issues, still believe in democracy and science. The somewhat informed are held hostage to the uninformed; the pandemic’s waves of death are Exhibit A.