Will the media, and the net in particular, eventually force conservatives out of their ignorance?

Question

Or will cons continue to adhere to their own ignorance producing/reinforcing safe-havens, like Fake News?

Answer 1

It doesn't seem to be working so far.....

I keep reading the same lame things on Y!A every day and night. The cons spout the Word According to Faux Snooze as is if were the Gospel. Critical thinking seems to be something that they are seriously lacking.

I understand that intelligent people may have differences of opinion when it comes to economics--the basis for most political maneuvering these days.

But the lack of common sense when it comes to seeing our rights being decimated, our Constitution being denigrated, and our children fighting and dying in an unwinnable war astounds me!

Answer 2

Interesting question, Lamp.

It would be nice if people would stop using "conservative" and "liberal" as synonyms for "smart" and "stupid," depending on where they're coming from. That would open up a lot of communication.

One obvious matter is is whether the U.S. govenment can simply shut down the Internet. If Bush could turn it off, he would. My intelligence from the geek community is that it would be impossible.

Yes, computer ownership has put in front of people an infinite array of sources of information. So it's rather sad when people say, "I don't trust The Media," simply because there's so much media, and if you use your brain, you can study issues from various sides and reach your own conclusions.

But a lot of the ignorance you see displayed here is coming from the red states. These are people who live in areas where jobs, by and large, are scarce and underpaid, and the situation, under the current regime, is getting worse.

These people know that people who are technology-wise are moving far ahead of them economically. This sets off jealousy that expresses itself as anti-intellectualism.

These people tend to slide off into a camp they call "conservative," but which is actually just uninformed. They listen to Rush because he tells them what to think, in a confusing world.

In addition, some groups are manifesting what Alvin Toffler called, years ago, "Future Shock." The world's gotten too bizarre for people to handle, so they are retreating into small-town lifestyles and pretending that it's the 50's.

This group is small--probably a little less than the thirty-percent lunatic fringe that still supports Bush. And it's going to continue to shrink.

By the way, there may actually be evolution going on here; a certain die-off of sectors of the population. It seems the Industrial Revolution may have been caused not by institutions, but by a change in the genomes of the individuals comprising the population. We might be in the thoes of a similar level of change, now.

This article from the New York Times is a review of a scholarly book on that subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/science/07indu.html?em&ex=1186718400&en=1fc82bf48d184b74&ei=5087%0A

Answer 3

i does no longer say the media forces human beings to settle for specific viewpoints. despite the fact that, the american media is rather stable at giving memories a undeniable slant despite if liberal or conservative. If something, the media efficiently "forces" its viewpoints on a individual while that individual does no longer have a solidly shaped beginning place of his/her values and does no longer examine or examine the historic past on subjects and viewpoints addressed interior the media.

Answer 4

I'm confused..... If we have fake news then how would the media force us out? I might not be able to sleep now pondering this one.

In what way am I ignorant? Going to have to give me an example on this one. So I'll wait for you to fabricate something, and then I'll come back and put you in your place.

Answer 5

Hello Lamplighter.

I am very concerned that Bush is now trying to create legislation to control free speech on the Internet.

Have you seen these reports about that lately?

This came about after his latest 'Executive Order' with regard to 'threatening stabilization efforts in Iraq'.

Sounds like soon forums like Y/A might be censored like in China!

Conservatives seem to not care that we are getting closer and closer to a police state every day!

Answer 6

Replacing talking points/spin/entertainment with facts/insight/education could be a start.

Answer 7

Nobody can be forced to believe anything.

But the more information available from the more sources -- and especially if that information is of high quality, factually verified and as unbiased as possible -- that draws people who actually are willing to learn.

Answer 8

I doubt it. we have three GOP candidates who do not believe in evolution!
some people have a very strong will and can avoid truth and logic for a long time.

Answer 9

I don't know what that says about you if you happen to find the media truthful, intelligent, and informative. I'm not a simpleton who lets the media influence my core beliefs, apparently you feel different. I personally find the mainstream media depressing, ignorant, and counter productive.

Answer 10

I wish. But when one clasps his hands over hisr ears, squeezes his eyes shut tight, and screams "Ditto, Megadittoes!" so that no reality can intrude, not even reliable net information can light the darkened halls of perpetual ignorance.