Thank you for speaking the truth as you have identified it. I hope you will share not only accurate information but suggest others in whom you have confidence. I have a Master’s Degree in Nursing which does not contribute significantly to understanding the situation in our nation today. I do have the time to read extensively as I am retired and homebound with few other responsibilities than to share what I believe to be true to others to preserve our Democracy and salvage our planet 🌎 if possible. My goal is to simply share truth when I find it. The science behind climate is challenging so my ideas are likely simplistic. Any truths you share are appreciated.
As you contemplate next steps, you may want to read this article by Thom Hartman. It capsulizes where America is today and how it got here. The links to other articles are critical in getting a full picture.
I’m thinking the Ignorati are a product of these forces and cannot be viewed in isolation. Education is the key for all of us. Being able to be non-elitist and get an education, or a doctorate, is critical.
Thom correctly identifies neoliberalism as the root cause, and that most people in this country have no idea what it means or how it has affected and will continue to affect them going forward. Thus, they glom onto whatever conspiracy theory du jour they perceive to “speak” to them and blindly follow those “messiahs” who “promise” to “cure their ills” because he/they are the “only ones who can do that.” Charismatic Crooks and Dominionism are bedfellows, and their followers are being led like sheep to slaughter.
And yeah, too many people write lots of things about the results of neoliberalism, but mostly in viscerally reactive terms out of abject frustration. Worse, the GOP architects of neoliberalism encourage them to do so in order to continue the corporate political donation gravy train that keeps them in power, and fight to eliminate any obstacle in their way. And 50 years of consistently stacking Congress and the Judiciary with neoliberal supporters is allowing them to get away with it.
One of the links in Thom’s article discusses Biden’s Chips and Infrastructure programs and the great things it’s accomplishing. Jake Sullivan gave a speech about it that was very enlightening, but which was not widely reported. Sullivan said that Biden has specifically and with a hard nosed intention announced that it’s time for neoliberalism to disappear. The Chips and Infrastructure Act did that. How many of the Ignorati and the rest of us are even aware of that momentous event and what it means going forward? I dare say very few. MSM won’t report on it and few folks are aware of it.
And yeah, there are authoritarian and Nazi voices everywhere, but when folks get the messages that change is under way, those voices will eventually be shouted down. It won’t happen by decree.
Is Substack perfect? Nope, not by a long shot. But, it does have a wide and growing audience that is worth talking with. Siloed information is dangerous and inherently limiting. Thus, porting out articles to other communication venues must occur.
Is finding a way to help the Ignorati and the rest of us see what’s actually been going on a worthy cause? Just a question to a friend who digs deeper and writes much more eloquently than me. Grins.
Hartmann's article is definitely an exceptionally well written short piece that discusses many of the unspoken factors that have led to today's democratic crisis. His many linked to sources, as you refer to, are excellent and well worth pursing.
One problem is there are too many things to know, and too much to understand.
I have a doctoral degree and I spend most of my free time reading. Sometimes I think I care about too many things. I barely keep up with information about them—when I can even find reliable information.
Even friends with with doctoral degrees comment on how much I know about random stuff. They say ‘how do you know this, how do you remember that?’ It may be their time was spent on their specialized work whereas I spend my time absorbed all the newspapers and magazines I feel compelled to read. Often, it is simply information I remember from the past, things from all the years reading the newspaper, magazines, books that are not at all in my areas of specialization—simply things I got obsessed with. Maybe it’s absurd that I feel guilty for all the rabbit holes I have gone down in my life. Sometimes these things help direct my research but more often they don’t.
So it’s not even great for my career as an academic to be a fox rather than a hedgehog. I am probably hardwired for this though.
Since Trump was elected I may have even become somewhat hyper-vigilant, just trying to keep up. I am pretty sure the reason i remember a lot of what I read is that factual information often becomes associated with emotions I have. The other day I was rattling off stuff about the Iraq War that nobody else remembers. It is very likely I remember because I knew we were being lied to, and this upset me deeply. I was obsessed with finding out whatever I could. (This did help my research, luckily, but I would have been like this anyway.)
Indeed I understand all too well the problem of being overwhelmed with an overabundance of information. I too am a rabbit hole diver and have frequently gotten lost in the tunnels and warrens of the underlying stories of many a topic.
Have used the term in my own way of pursuing information (falling down a rabbit hole) as I follow many links and often end up off topic but generally wiser for it. The internet has made digging for knowledge in that way much simpler as walking the halls of huge academic libraries in my past with cards pulled from the many catalogues, going through the stacks to find a particular reference; spending great allotments of time available simply finding a reference leaving so little to peruse and study; so grateful for the links that make up the rabbit holes of the internet 🛜. Can get lost for hours and glean much more information. I wonder how we older folks made it through those massive libraries and completed assignments. So much physical effort for tiny gains comparably.
Footnote 3 Census tables show doctoral degrees and professional degrees as separate columns and professional as separate from masters and bachelor degrees, of which the latter two include a few degrees considered by their respective accreditation boards as professional degrees. The linked tables do not further explain professional degrees, but given the order of educational attainment shown, I read that column as including MD, DVM, D Pharma, DMD, and JD to name the major four and three year professional doctoral degrees. Meaning the numbers included under Professional should be weighted equal to, and in some cases higher based upon difficulty and post doctorate residencies and fellowships, the numbers shown under doctoral and included for the purposes of categorizing the highest levels of education in the discussion.
For statistical purposes only, since some are chiming in on their respective level of achievement (not that that really matters if one has been successful and considered knowledgeable amongst their peers after 30 of 40 years of career), I only have a B.S. degree from a program most universities teach as a combined BS plus a MS level of courses in a household of two that also includes someone with a BS, MS, professional doctorate, post doctoral residency and more letters after her name than can fit on one line of a business card. I go to her conferences and proudly acknowledge I’m likely the least intelligent person in the room. Doesn’t bother me a bit.
Thanks for this. I have long been fascinated by our human ignorance. How we experience and participate in its destructive action and it’s societal philosophical origins. So I look forward to all your future research on this subject.
Are you familiar with the work of the British social philosopher John Gray ? If not, I recommend his New Leviathans (2023) as a thought provoking analysis of how sclerotic educational institutional ignorance, which simply reiterates philosophical faults originating in an unquestioned Enlightenment ideology, may have contributed to this present political dystopia.
I do not think that such people are any better about politics than others. In general, Ph.D. holders know their field well and perhaps are knowledgeable in a few peripheral fields. But that does not mean they are smarter in many everyday categories, even if they tend to think so.
Thank you for speaking the truth as you have identified it. I hope you will share not only accurate information but suggest others in whom you have confidence. I have a Master’s Degree in Nursing which does not contribute significantly to understanding the situation in our nation today. I do have the time to read extensively as I am retired and homebound with few other responsibilities than to share what I believe to be true to others to preserve our Democracy and salvage our planet 🌎 if possible. My goal is to simply share truth when I find it. The science behind climate is challenging so my ideas are likely simplistic. Any truths you share are appreciated.
As you contemplate next steps, you may want to read this article by Thom Hartman. It capsulizes where America is today and how it got here. The links to other articles are critical in getting a full picture.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartmann/p/can-america-and-the-world-survive-281?r=1dkp2g&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I’m thinking the Ignorati are a product of these forces and cannot be viewed in isolation. Education is the key for all of us. Being able to be non-elitist and get an education, or a doctorate, is critical.
Thom correctly identifies neoliberalism as the root cause, and that most people in this country have no idea what it means or how it has affected and will continue to affect them going forward. Thus, they glom onto whatever conspiracy theory du jour they perceive to “speak” to them and blindly follow those “messiahs” who “promise” to “cure their ills” because he/they are the “only ones who can do that.” Charismatic Crooks and Dominionism are bedfellows, and their followers are being led like sheep to slaughter.
And yeah, too many people write lots of things about the results of neoliberalism, but mostly in viscerally reactive terms out of abject frustration. Worse, the GOP architects of neoliberalism encourage them to do so in order to continue the corporate political donation gravy train that keeps them in power, and fight to eliminate any obstacle in their way. And 50 years of consistently stacking Congress and the Judiciary with neoliberal supporters is allowing them to get away with it.
One of the links in Thom’s article discusses Biden’s Chips and Infrastructure programs and the great things it’s accomplishing. Jake Sullivan gave a speech about it that was very enlightening, but which was not widely reported. Sullivan said that Biden has specifically and with a hard nosed intention announced that it’s time for neoliberalism to disappear. The Chips and Infrastructure Act did that. How many of the Ignorati and the rest of us are even aware of that momentous event and what it means going forward? I dare say very few. MSM won’t report on it and few folks are aware of it.
And yeah, there are authoritarian and Nazi voices everywhere, but when folks get the messages that change is under way, those voices will eventually be shouted down. It won’t happen by decree.
Is Substack perfect? Nope, not by a long shot. But, it does have a wide and growing audience that is worth talking with. Siloed information is dangerous and inherently limiting. Thus, porting out articles to other communication venues must occur.
Is finding a way to help the Ignorati and the rest of us see what’s actually been going on a worthy cause? Just a question to a friend who digs deeper and writes much more eloquently than me. Grins.
Hartmann's article is definitely an exceptionally well written short piece that discusses many of the unspoken factors that have led to today's democratic crisis. His many linked to sources, as you refer to, are excellent and well worth pursing.
One problem is there are too many things to know, and too much to understand.
I have a doctoral degree and I spend most of my free time reading. Sometimes I think I care about too many things. I barely keep up with information about them—when I can even find reliable information.
Even friends with with doctoral degrees comment on how much I know about random stuff. They say ‘how do you know this, how do you remember that?’ It may be their time was spent on their specialized work whereas I spend my time absorbed all the newspapers and magazines I feel compelled to read. Often, it is simply information I remember from the past, things from all the years reading the newspaper, magazines, books that are not at all in my areas of specialization—simply things I got obsessed with. Maybe it’s absurd that I feel guilty for all the rabbit holes I have gone down in my life. Sometimes these things help direct my research but more often they don’t.
So it’s not even great for my career as an academic to be a fox rather than a hedgehog. I am probably hardwired for this though.
Since Trump was elected I may have even become somewhat hyper-vigilant, just trying to keep up. I am pretty sure the reason i remember a lot of what I read is that factual information often becomes associated with emotions I have. The other day I was rattling off stuff about the Iraq War that nobody else remembers. It is very likely I remember because I knew we were being lied to, and this upset me deeply. I was obsessed with finding out whatever I could. (This did help my research, luckily, but I would have been like this anyway.)
As a fellow rabbit holer, it’s called intellectual curiosity. Far too many people don’t have it; same for critical thinking skills.
Indeed I understand all too well the problem of being overwhelmed with an overabundance of information. I too am a rabbit hole diver and have frequently gotten lost in the tunnels and warrens of the underlying stories of many a topic.
Have used the term in my own way of pursuing information (falling down a rabbit hole) as I follow many links and often end up off topic but generally wiser for it. The internet has made digging for knowledge in that way much simpler as walking the halls of huge academic libraries in my past with cards pulled from the many catalogues, going through the stacks to find a particular reference; spending great allotments of time available simply finding a reference leaving so little to peruse and study; so grateful for the links that make up the rabbit holes of the internet 🛜. Can get lost for hours and glean much more information. I wonder how we older folks made it through those massive libraries and completed assignments. So much physical effort for tiny gains comparably.
Footnote 3 Census tables show doctoral degrees and professional degrees as separate columns and professional as separate from masters and bachelor degrees, of which the latter two include a few degrees considered by their respective accreditation boards as professional degrees. The linked tables do not further explain professional degrees, but given the order of educational attainment shown, I read that column as including MD, DVM, D Pharma, DMD, and JD to name the major four and three year professional doctoral degrees. Meaning the numbers included under Professional should be weighted equal to, and in some cases higher based upon difficulty and post doctorate residencies and fellowships, the numbers shown under doctoral and included for the purposes of categorizing the highest levels of education in the discussion.
For statistical purposes only, since some are chiming in on their respective level of achievement (not that that really matters if one has been successful and considered knowledgeable amongst their peers after 30 of 40 years of career), I only have a B.S. degree from a program most universities teach as a combined BS plus a MS level of courses in a household of two that also includes someone with a BS, MS, professional doctorate, post doctoral residency and more letters after her name than can fit on one line of a business card. I go to her conferences and proudly acknowledge I’m likely the least intelligent person in the room. Doesn’t bother me a bit.
Thanks for this. I have long been fascinated by our human ignorance. How we experience and participate in its destructive action and it’s societal philosophical origins. So I look forward to all your future research on this subject.
Are you familiar with the work of the British social philosopher John Gray ? If not, I recommend his New Leviathans (2023) as a thought provoking analysis of how sclerotic educational institutional ignorance, which simply reiterates philosophical faults originating in an unquestioned Enlightenment ideology, may have contributed to this present political dystopia.
Welcome Back.
Thank you. I am still dealing with a general weakness and fatigue that I just cannot seem to shake off, but I am getting better, slowly and surely.
Robert,
I have a Ph.D. and have known 100s who do.
I do not think that such people are any better about politics than others. In general, Ph.D. holders know their field well and perhaps are knowledgeable in a few peripheral fields. But that does not mean they are smarter in many everyday categories, even if they tend to think so.