• BozeKnoflook@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    That’s not completely true though, which is why I find it so baffling. My mother was a professor that taught English literature and Greek mythology, my step father wasn’t nearly as educated but he designed trusses for new buildings. They weren’t / aren’t the bottom 3rd of the bell curve but they still fell for this assholes promises.

    I think being an idiot makes it more likely that somebody will like Trump, but it’s not the full story. Conservatism, specifically the desire for a stratified society led by an authoritarian that will protect them and punish “the other” is a far greater indicator I believe.

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        There is a difference between Knowledge and Critical Thinking.

        Knowledge is what you know, but Critical Thinking Skills are how you properly think and manage that knowledge. It’s possible to have knowledge, yet not know how to think properly. It’s even common, as we all witness around us every day.

        Lots of people know stuff, and think that makes them smart. It’s how you think that makes you smart, and that require Critical Thinking Skills, which Conservatives actively try to supress in schools. They claim it causes students to question authority, which it does.

        Questioning authority is the entire fucking point.

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      Yes, there are certainly a portion who are brainwashed/indoctrinated through propaganda, but I consider it more likely that universal education, and what was deemed socially-acceptable by the majority/community, were suppressing the base instincts of those who are empathetically deficient.

      Now that capitalism and technology have simultaneously isolated us from our local communities, destroyed the social contract, and can deliver us sociopath-curated-propaganda and misinformation algorithmically, those people no longer feel the need to hide their terrible beliefs or personalities.

      Narcissism is being made socially desirable and acceptable. It is a largely-manufactured mental illness epidemic.