Planet America

[Admin]

What has changed over the years is the "unenlightened" part. We're morons. Collectively, we can't tell reality from fantasy. When John Kennedy said, "Let's go the moon!", America got to work, paid taxes, and started a big push to teach math. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, America said, "Now you're pissing us off." and built 28 aircraft carriers, about a billion tanks, and an atomic bomb.

People think I've always been anti-American, but it's not true, and you've hit the nail exactly right there. I had nothing but admiration for USA, and even Reagan only started the change. Bush I, then Clinton, then Bush II finished the job and I don't believe the situation is now recoverable.

[sparks]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2NJWnbs ... A0bTNtazE4

That is fucking legendary!

Indeed. A prime example of the stoopid.

[stanky]

damn...i might be more cynical than you guys.
i think the myth of the noble past is just that...myth.
We're probably smarter than ever. People in the 50's didn't know squat. But it didn't matter, because that information didn't exist yet, so they could get could grades while not knowing so much stuff that we take for granted.

i watched something yesterday about the history of the i.q. test. the 'evidence' showed i.q.s going up, gradually, in the u.s.
(Don't know if the last few years were counted) but it was assumed this would happen as cultural evolution via osmosis.)
I think we're told we're morons and believe it. Or, moronic behavior is over-reported because it's fun and profitable.
Great as that clip is, did ya'll consider that it was probably a planned blooper and that guy didn't get hurt? $

to drive the point home, consider the folks you know...aren't they mostly sane and competent and decent?
my own peers all seem almost equally intelligent...like, you needn't explain certain concepts; everyone seems pretty sharp.
In town, when i see the locals that i don't know, they all seem about the same to me as well. Interchange with them works about the same; coherent; pleasant; sometimes funny. I've never seen these other hordes the media describes.

if i was more Alex Jones, i'd say the Trumpsters depicted on fake liberal media are paid actors. Same ones, over and over,doing Nazi shit. Otoh, we are incredibly powerless in the present arrangement, and within its confines and agendas, we have no choice but to be buffoons. People with multiple advanced degrees look moronic when stuck in traffic.

[stanky]

if we're more moronic than we use to be, i'd guess it's a matter of there being so many more of us....3x more than when i came on board. There were so many less cars on the roads; no fast food joints; strip malls, etc.
So things are dumber via more. And having this fast a breeding pool is probably a moronic behavior.
It's hard to imagine 1/3rd the people, and them doing way less driving than we do now...had we kept our numbers steady from 75 years ago, there'd be amazing space. Uncrowded beaches; ample farm soil; water, fuel...

that one thing; reproduction, was too emotional an issue. Still is. We could have near-paradise conditions if we could manage the most basic husbandry on ourselves.

[sparks]

But stank, Gawd needs souls tithing 10%! Yes, he's omnipotent, everlasting, all that dumb ass jive. But he sucks at money management.

[President Bush]

What has changed over the years is the "unenlightened" part. We're morons. Collectively, we can't tell reality from fantasy. When John Kennedy said, "Let's go the moon!", America got to work, paid taxes, and started a big push to teach math. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, America said, "Now you're pissing us off." and built 28 aircraft carriers, about a billion tanks, and an atomic bomb.

People think I've always been anti-American, but it's not true, and you've hit the nail exactly right there. I had nothing but admiration for USA, and even Reagan only started the change. Bush I, then Clinton, then Bush II finished the job and I don't believe the situation is now recoverable.

Republicans main project has been to ¨starve the beast¨, to undo the structural changes FDR and LBJ helped put into place ie progressive society, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, through endless tax cuts, while stoking fires of racial insecurity as whites become closer to being a minority. And it´s working.

Most folks are too involved staring at Netflix and their goddamned mind-numbing shit-filled motherfucking cell phones to care.

[Meadmaker]

to drive the point home, consider the folks you know...aren't they mostly sane and competent and decent?

Honestly, no.

They can do their jobs. They can get around. They can earn and spend and engage in small talk. Beyond that? Not so much.

And maybe that is no different than previous generations, but something feels different.

It's hard to put into words what I see in America today that I think is a change from when I was young, but I'll try. Unfortunately, I can't do better than anecdotes. At least not immediately.

I volunteer at a local school with a team. Our coach, a teacher by profession, created a list of goals for the team, such as "qualifying for the state championship tournament". Several of the goals were beyond what we achieved in previous years. He had the kids sign a poster with those goals, pledging to achieve them. Great. So far, so good. It's kind of cheesy, but setting goals is a good start. After the signing ceremony, when the adults got together, I started asking what we were going to do differently this year to achieve those goals.

Not only did he not have an answer, he didn't understand the question. Literally. He was obviously confused. By signing that poster, he was getting the kids to commit to higher achievement, and that commitment was going to materialize.

That's what I see in America today. Desire without a connection to action. Wish fulfillment as a substitute for cause and effect. Reality is a social construct.




I don't know if there's a way to quantify that or to demonstrate it with an effective test, so I can't even prove that what I see is real, but it just feels that way to me. The diffference between me and a lot of Americans is that I know that my feelings don't make it true. I recognize that it's just kind of a hunch, and that without evidence, it's no more significant than anyone else's speculation.

(We had a pretty good season. Better than usual. But we didn't make the state championship tournament.)

[President Bush]

to drive the point home, consider the folks you know...aren't they mostly sane and competent and decent?

Honestly, no.

They can do their jobs. They can get around. They can earn and spend and engage in small talk. Beyond that? Not so much.

And maybe that is no different than previous generations, but something feels different.

It's hard to put into words what I see in America today that I think is a change from when I was young, but I'll try. Unfortunately, I can't do better than anecdotes. At least not immediately.

I volunteer at a local school with a team. Our coach, a teacher by profession, created a list of goals for the team, such as "qualifying for the state championship tournament". Several of the goals were beyond what we achieved in previous years. He had the kids sign a poster with those goals, pledging to achieve them. Great. So far, so good. It's kind of cheesy, but setting goals is a good start. After the signing ceremony, when the adults got together, I started asking what we were going to do differently this year to achieve those goals.

Not only did he not have an answer, he didn't understand the question. Literally. He was obviously confused. By signing that poster, he was getting the kids to commit to higher achievement, and that commitment was going to materialize.

That's what I see in America today. Desire without a connection to action. Wish fulfillment as a substitute for cause and effect. Reality is a social construct.

I don't know if there's a way to quantify that or to demonstrate it with an effective test, so I can't even prove that what I see is real, but it just feels that way to me. The diffference between me and a lot of Americans is that I know that my feelings don't make it true. I recognize that it's just kind of a hunch, and that without evidence, it's no more significant than anyone else's speculation.

(We had a pretty good season. Better than usual. But we didn't make the state championship tournament.)

I know what you mean.

Sincerity has replaced a concern with facts. Too many people having opinions, going on and getting worked up over things they know virtually nothing about. It´s getting worse.

[Admin]

We're probably smarter than ever.

Not buying it.

Attention spans are now so short that scenes in movies and TV can't last more than 6 seconds. In the past, people were required to think and be imaginative. Go back before TV and people listened to radio shows, where it's necessary to edit the entire movie in your head.

Books are written by ghost writers and appalling crap like Harry Potter is the only type to make the author rich.

The less people are required to think, the dumber they get.

[sparks]

And let's not forget to add: The more susceptible they are to influences like advertising. To name but one.

Besides, thinking is hard! Imagine that. Far easier to stumble along with the rest of the sheep and as long as that cell phone is charged and connected, no fucking worries.



Until the shit hits the fan. Which I'm sure everyone here will admit can take many forms.



My biggest complaint with modern education is this: Students are learning facts and points of interest in the various disciplines, but no one is teaching them how to think.

Critical thinking ought to be a requirement in school. And not just one bloody class in high school, but from grade school on.

But education these days is hard pressed to teach reading, writing and arithmetic and actually deliver any competence to the student. Unless and until we get back to that, shit's gonna remain stoopid and full of dumbth.