‘Cult of ignorance’
Dear editor:
One of my favorite writers has been Issac Asimov. He once said, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”
I grew up on a dirt farm in Nebraska and attended a one-room country school house. Our school books were outdated and our teachers only had high school educations. That experience taught me the value of knowledge. I have always sought to know more today than I did yesterday. Over the years I managed by working full time and attending night school almost full time to earn a few degrees. I do get upset when some uneducated fool disparages the value of education.
When someone like Mary Robinson refers to people like myself as educated idiots, I do become angry. I worked hard for my education. Nothing was given to me except for some GI Benefits that I spent eight years in the USMC earning. When she goes on to disparage the handicapped, somewhat like her hero “the Donald,” I lose all respect. I was raised by Russian immigrant grandparents who were Christians. The Christianity they displayed was much like that advocated by Doc Crawford, George Lindholm and other more liberal very well-educated Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus.
It is rather unfortunate that several decades ago the Republican Party joined forces with the anti-union groups and evangelical leaders to create a form of Christianity that decided to place Jesus in the back of the bus and only bring him out for showcase moments.
These evangelical, white Americans are entrenched in fundamentalist belief systems, don’t trust people outside their tribe, have been force-fed a diet of misinformation and lies for decades, are unwilling to understand their own situations and truly believe whites are superior to all races. They refused to accept President Obama and were happy to accept the most immoral, incompetent person ever elected as their leader because he would give them what they wanted to advance their agenda. It really appears that they want to destroy all that is good about America.
People like Mary and her supporters do not care. For them, I kind of wish there really was a hell.
As for me, I chose to follow the advice of the Dalai Lama, “Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much — you must lead a good life. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity.” Mike Nunn Hot Springs