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  1. Freeven Member
    Freeven
    @Freeven

    One of our in-laws recently married a woman. She’s 25 and proud of the fact that she graduated as an honor student. During the impeachment hearings she got into a heated argument with her husband about who would become president if Trump was removed from office. In her world, Nancy Pelosi would be president as the Constitution said Pence would be disqualified due to being in the same party as Trump. More troubling than the ignorance (worse than ignorance, actually, since she “knew” something that wasn’t true) was the absolute certainty with which argued.

    These kids not only don’t know anything, they know things that aren’t true. Combine that with an utter lack of humility (also fostered by our schools) and it’s not pretty. They are simply smarter, wiser, and more virtuous than anyone that came before them. They’ve been told they are the future their entire lives. And sadly, that’s true.

    • #61
  2. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    • #62
  3. Lois Lane Coolidge
    Lois Lane
    @LoisLane

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    It’s too hard to do with distance learning because I need to do a basic review first, but I Often have an assignment in which kids do man-on-the-street interviews as a project. The thing I’ve learned? General US History knowledge really is this bad.

    I remember seeing a video of a series of questions to young blacks. They didn’t know the answers to any of the them. Grand dad wandered over, and answered every one.

    This is a story that could be repeated for most groups of Americans. The oldsters know more than the kids. I used to think this was because schools have gotten worse. There is some of that, but I also think we often grow into caring more about the past as we mature….

    Gotta disagree. Schools are shamefully maleducating students these days. I remember getting to know Mr. C’s parents as we were dating. They were Okies from humble backgrounds. Mr C’s dad actually grew up in part living in a sod hut out on the prairie (with 10 siblings). He left home at fourteen, working every job from lumberjack in New Mexico to window washer in Seattle. Tried to join the military and was found out to be underage. Eventually he was in the initial group of Airborne Rangers serving in Korea.

    What impressed me was he and Mr. C’s mom both read the newspaper cover to cover every day. They kept up. And they’d learned their civics in one room schoolhouses. There is no way these 21st century students will ever know as much about their country — and likely won’t even be interested to know. Why learn about such a racist, unjust nation, even if you’re a citizen of it?

    The Left has a lot to answer for.

    Don’t get me wrong.  There is a lot of propaganda now, which is shameful.  However, I think back to my own secondary education, and it wasn’t full of Zinn.  It was just mediocre and not very comprehensive….  I knew things purely because of my parents.  I got older and wanted to learn more.  I think that’s the case for a lot of people Gen X and older who grew up in the South.  Our schools were patriotic but blah.  Perhaps that’s why the takeover was so easy.

    • #63
  4. Ansonia Member
    Ansonia
    @Ansonia

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    It’s too hard to do with distance learning because I need to do a basic review first, but I Often have an assignment in which kids do man-on-the-street interviews as a project. The thing I’ve learned? General US History knowledge really is this bad.

    I remember seeing a video of a series of questions to young blacks. They didn’t know the answers to any of the them. Grand dad wandered over, and answered every one.

    This is a story that could be repeated for most groups of Americans. The oldsters know more than the kids. I used to think this was because schools have gotten worse. There is some of that, but I also think we often grow into caring more about the past as we mature….

    Gotta disagree. Schools are shamefully maleducating students these days. I remember getting to know Mr. C’s parents as we were dating. They were Okies from humble backgrounds. Mr C’s dad actually grew up in part living in a sod hut out on the prairie (with 10 siblings). He left home at fourteen, working every job from lumberjack in New Mexico to window washer in Seattle. Tried to join the military and was found out to be underage. Eventually he was in the initial group of Airborne Rangers serving in Korea.

    What impressed me was he and Mr. C’s mom both read the newspaper cover to cover every day. They kept up. And they’d learned their civics in one room schoolhouses. There is no way these 21st century students will ever know as much about their country — and likely won’t even be interested to know. Why learn about such a racist, unjust nation, even if you’re a citizen of it?

    The Left has a lot to answer for.

    Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of propaganda now, which is shameful. However, I think back to my own secondary education, and it wasn’t full of Zinn. It was just mediocre and not very comprehensive…. I knew things purely because of my parents. I got older and wanted to learn more. I think that’s the case for a lot of people Gen X and older who grew up in the South. Our schools were patriotic but blah. Perhaps that’s why the takeover was so easy.

    That’s exactly why the takeover was so easy.

    • #64
  5. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Lois Lane (View Comment):
    Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of propaganda now, which is shameful. However, I think back to my own secondary education, and it wasn’t full of Zinn. It was just mediocre and not very comprehensive…. I knew things purely because of my parents. I got older and wanted to learn more. I think that’s the case for a lot of people Gen X and older who grew up in the South. Our schools were patriotic but blah. Perhaps that’s why the takeover was so easy.

    My point is, it isn’t just the ignorance of youth with these kids. Remember watching Ken Burns’ Civil War series and the common foot soldiers’ letters home being read? Can you imagine any of today’s young people producing such beautifully literate, heart-rending works? 

    Our society diminishes people rather than forming them up.  Public education has a lot to do with that. The general degradation of and disdain for the liberal arts has a lot to do with it (Camille Paglia would agree). Prosperity (lack of suffering and personal examples of heroic self-sacrifice) and secularization (unaccountability to a higher power) are big, huge factors.  

    People used to know the Bible even if they weren’t very religious. People saw first-hand that life is tragic and the good life is laying it down in love for others. Now, people are protected from the natural consequences of their foolish actions and taught that elevating one’s status is accomplished through victimhood. 

    We really are living in satanic times. Everything is upside down.

    • #65
  6. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    This is why we shouldn’t give out the vote wily nily. 

    • #66
  7. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    [snipped comment]

    I remember seeing a video of a series of questions to young blacks. They didn’t know the answers to any of the them. Grand dad wandered over, and answered every one.

    This is a story that could be repeated for most groups of Americans. The oldsters know more than the kids. I used to think this was because schools have gotten worse. There is some of that, but I also think we often grow into caring more about the past as we mature….

    Gotta disagree. Schools are shamefully maleducating students these days. I remember getting to know Mr. C’s parents as we were dating. They were Okies from humble backgrounds. Mr C’s dad actually grew up in part living in a sod hut out on the prairie (with 10 siblings). He left home at fourteen, working every job from lumberjack in New Mexico to window washer in Seattle. Tried to join the military and was found out to be underage. Eventually he was in the initial group of Airborne Rangers serving in Korea.

    What impressed me was he and Mr. C’s mom both read the newspaper cover to cover every day. They kept up. And they’d learned their civics in one room schoolhouses. There is no way these 21st century students will ever know as much about their country — and likely won’t even be interested to know. Why learn about such a racist, unjust nation, even if you’re a citizen of it?

    The Left has a lot to answer for.

    Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of propaganda now, which is shameful. However, I think back to my own secondary education, and it wasn’t full of Zinn. It was just mediocre and not very comprehensive…. I knew things purely because of my parents. I got older and wanted to learn more. I think that’s the case for a lot of people Gen X and older who grew up in the South. Our schools were patriotic but blah. Perhaps that’s why the takeover was so easy.

    When you’re a kid, history is blah – you just got here and everything is new and you’ve got new important things that are happening now and have never happened to anyone before ever – no one has ever felt the things you are feeling now! 

    The easiest way to get their attention is to make them feel something even stronger. 

    Outrage is always a popular choice, but adopted seething resentment works well too. 

    • #67
  8. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    This is why we shouldn’t give out the vote wily nily.

    That literacy tests were used to suppress votes on a racial basis doesn’t change the fact that ignorant people can’t vote for their own interests much less anyone else’s. 

    The only reasonable tests for voting are citizenship and adulthood. We need to find a way to minimize votes from people not in those categories, but we aren’t manufacturing adults anymore. 

    • #68
  9. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Take a deep breath . . . relax . . . say to yourself, “Kids today can’t be this stupid.”

    Nevermind. I just tried it, and it doesn’t work . . .

    It’s not stupidity. They’re smart enough. It’s ignorance.

    While true, one sign of stupidity is the rejection of addressing one’s ignorance . . .

    • #69
  10. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    • #70
  11. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Stad (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    No lie! Total narcissists only concerned with being popular – people who wear Nobel Prizes really suck. 

    • #71
  12. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    TBA (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    No lie! Total narcissists only concerned with being popular – people who wear Nobel Prizes really suck.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama wore his.

    • #72
  13. RPD Inactive
    RPD
    @RPD

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    TBA (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    No lie! Total narcissists only concerned with being popular – people who wear Nobel Prizes really suck.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama wore his.

    The Nobel prize includes a medal, so I suppose he could. I know I’d be tempted.

    • #73
  14. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    RPD (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    TBA (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    No lie! Total narcissists only concerned with being popular – people who wear Nobel Prizes really suck.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama wore his.

    The Nobel prize includes a medal, so I suppose he could. I know I’d be tempted.

    In the shower.

    • #74
  15. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Freeven (View Comment):

    … In her world, Nancy Pelosi would be president as the Constitution said Pence would be disqualified due to being in the same party as Trump. More troubling than the ignorance…was the absolute certainty with which argued.

    Perhaps she believes in a Living Constitution in which whatever leftists want today is Constitutionally mandated. ;-)

    • #75
  16. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    TBA (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    the guy who invented Spandex haha. Shoulda won a Nobel Prize.

    If he had known the type of people who would wear it . . .

    No lie! Total narcissists only concerned with being popular – people who wear Nobel Prizes really suck.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama wore his.

    I think he put it where Churchill’s bust was . . .

    • #76
  17. Joseph Stanko Coolidge
    Joseph Stanko
    @JosephStanko

    Freeven (View Comment):

    One of our in-laws recently married a woman. She’s 25 and proud of the fact that she graduated as an honor student. During the impeachment hearings she got into a heated argument with her husband about who would become president if Trump was removed from office. In her world, Nancy Pelosi would be president as the Constitution said Pence would be disqualified due to being in the same party as Trump. More troubling than the ignorance (worse than ignorance, actually, since she “knew” something that wasn’t true) was the absolute certainty with which argued.

    These kids not only don’t know anything, they know things that aren’t true. Combine that with an utter lack of humility (also fostered by our schools) and it’s not pretty. They are simply smarter, wiser, and more virtuous than anyone that came before them. They’ve been told they are the future their entire lives. And sadly, that’s true.

    It’s not like it’s hard to pull out a copy of the Constitution and settle that argument. I wonder if she’s ever even read it?  

    • #77
  18. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Lois Lane (View Comment):
    Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of propaganda now, which is shameful. However, I think back to my own secondary education, and it wasn’t full of Zinn. It was just mediocre and not very comprehensive…. I knew things purely because of my parents. I got older and wanted to learn more. I think that’s the case for a lot of people Gen X and older who grew up in the South. Our schools were patriotic but blah. Perhaps that’s why the takeover was so easy.

    My point is, it isn’t just the ignorance of youth with these kids. Remember watching Ken Burns’ Civil War series and the common foot soldiers’ letters home being read? Can you imagine any of today’s young people producing such beautifully literate, heart-rending works?

    Our society diminishes people rather than forming them up. Public education has a lot to do with that. The general degradation of SNIP  liberal arts has a lot to do with it SNIP Prosperity (lack of suffering & personal examples of heroic self-sacrifice) and secularization (unaccountability to a higher power) are big, huge factors.

    People used to know the Bible SNIP  People saw first-hand that life is tragic and the good life is laying it down in love for others. Now, people are protected from natural consequences of  foolish actions and taught that elevating one’s status is through victimhood.

    We really are living in satanic times. Everything is upside down.

    A person can see a downward trajectory in our lives just in the last 40 years of movie watching. For instance, the initial big screen “Superman” of the 1970’s was true to the comic book version that offered up  the noble heroics of a man turned into super powered force. The humble Clark Kent was not upset that his heroics would never  affect his status in his day to day life. He was content to remain  a low echelon news reporter, while people in the news room speculated about who Superman  might be.

    Superman battled evil, to help human individuals avoid being hurt or killed. In the first movie and its 3 sequels, there was not much  gratuitous violence. Plus there was plenty of character development.

    But “Man of Steel” released  in 2013 was filled with entire neighborhoods or sections of a city exploding. The viewer could assume anyone living in that region was being wiped out. However, the tremendous annihilation  did not seem to matter as long as the “Man of Steel” and a few people around him survived.

    When I saw the 2013 movie, I felt like the crucial element of the Superman story, the element that  had a grounding human feel to it, was no longer evident. Sure there were a lot more explosions, but prior to this movie, Superman was not about things being blown up.

    Gamers may have loved it, but the rest of us did not.

    • #78
  19. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Well, if you want to talk about superhero movies, I found it hilariously lacking in self-awareness for Hollywood to make Thanos the perfect modern-day progressive. He reduced the horrible, polluting surplus population in order to achieve a more equitable distribution of limited resources. SNAP!

    Normally, you can’t make this stuff up.

    VDH has a typically great take in From DNC Irony to Parody.

    • #79
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