The Proliferation of Ignorance

SHARE:

By Neil ~

I've heard it said that the United States as a nation is losing it's intellectual capacity. That we are quickly becoming (or already have become) a culture of mindless consumerism propped up by the hollow promises of fulfillment by the corporations taking our money. When I look around a Wal Mart parking lot, it's not hard to see some truth in this. A trip through the local shopping mall reveals the same. Browsing the Internet seems only to illustrate a concentrated essence of stupidity and ignorance in many of it's darkest corners.

IgnoranceImage by dhammza via Flickr

Yet I do find that there are many intelligent and intellectually honest people out there. Their own capacity for reason lays mostly dormant as there is not much call for it during the nine to five grind. They are keeping their heads down as they struggle to keep the family fed and the bills paid. They simply don't have the time nor the interest to engage the least of us in public forums. I am speaking of the average citizen here.

We gage the intelligence of our counterparts by what we encounter in social mediums like the news, documentaries. game shows and of course, the Net. It seems that we are beaten over the head with an expectation of mediocrity on a near daily basis. Very few of the Mass Media Networks are interested in taking a stand against ignorance. They appear more interested in exploiting and profiting from it. In this light, I wouldn't expect them to promote the brightest programming. I do believe this further perpetuates the myth that we all posses the mental acuity of cattle. My outlook for humanity isn't quite this bleak however.

I would argue that the Internet itself is where logic and reason now live. It still exists in libraries but there are few who still venture into the dusty volumes contained therein. As with any game that everyone is allowed to play, even the hard core fundamentalists have a voice here. They don't have immunity against reason or impunity to act and thus they lock themselves into members only sites that moderate comments with only the brand of deluded paranoia that they could muster. This applies to many different groups good or bad.

Does it appear that intelligence as a whole is waning because the public is steeped in mindless drivel? Or is it that fact that just about every idiot with an opinion (myself included) now has access to the world wide forum of the Net? Answers in Genesis would be a mere shadow of itself if it relied exclusively on paper correspondence. Their brand of idiocy would have never been so widely broadcasted. Pat Robertson would be even less of a nobody had he not have created his little media empire.

It would appear that having access to information in real time has done much to give the illusion that we're getting dumber by the minute. Idiots are entertaining and thus what is promoted? Religion just as any other business venture has witnessed the exploitable nature of the Internet as a tool to promote their brand of ignorance. I don't think they quite expected the amount of push back that they have encountered however. They can't dominate a conversation unless in is behind the walls of their fort. (Rapture Ready anyone?) For every view, there is an opposing view not far away. Enlightenment depends on which position you choose to hang your hat on.

In conclusion, I don't think that humanity is any less intelligent that it has ever been. Then again, I don't necessarily believe that it is in any way more so either. We simply have more access to each other now. We interact with each other in a way and magnitude that has never before been seen. Bad ideas seem more rampant because they are now capable of growing wings and flying across the ethereal landscape instead of dying on the vine locally. Who will carry the day will be decided by whoever has the most concise and intelligent shot gun with which to dispose of these bad ideas before they find a purchase and procreate.

COMMENTS

Agnosticator,5,Al Wm Johnson,3,Alegria,3,Alen Basic,1,American Apostate,3,Andrew Jasko,3,Anne R Keye,6,AnonAgno94,4,Apetivist,2,Apostate Paul,3,Articles,707,Aspieguy,12,Astreja,9,atheistnurse,10,AtheistToothFairy,1,austinrohm,3,Avangelism Project,2,Barrett Evans,2,Ben Love,69,billybee,2,BlackFreethought,12,Bob Keye,3,Bob R,4,boomSlang,1,Bore Venal Charlatan,2,Brad N,1,Brian Kellogg,8,Brisancian,3,Bruce Gerencser,1,Bruno Corey,1,C. T. Ogden,4,Carl S,377,Carol Putnam,2,Carolyn Hyppolite,10,Cecelia,4,Cheryl Ensom Dack,6,Chris Highland,2,Chris W.,1,Christian Agnostic,2,Christmas,31,ChuckyJesus,1,ConversationsWithA,1,Daniel out of the Lion's Den,15,Daniel Payne,1,Dano,17,darklady,7,Dave8,1,DealDoctor,24,Dethblight,6,dharma,4,Discordia,5,Doubting Thomas,2,Dr. Marlene Winell,24,Dr. Valerie Tarico,150,DRC,2,dswrites,2,Easter,28,EChamberlainMD,6,Ed (Teapot),2,Edward T. Babinski,1,Eric Jeffries,2,eveningmeadows,11,Evid3nc3,3,ex-Pastor Dan,19,exfundy,2,exPenty,8,Faithfool,2,Fernando Alcántar,6,freddieb42,2,freeatlast,6,G.M. Gates,2,Gary T. McDonald,2,God-O-Rama,6,Godlessgrrl,5,Greenworld,4,hellboundsoul,3,Herb,3,Houndies,3,illu minati,2,Incongruous Circumspection,11,J.W.,2,JadedAtheist,2,Jake Rhodes,3,James A. Haught,3,James C,2,James Wilhelm,9,Jazzybelle,3,Jennifer,3,Jody,3,John Draper,26,John Loftus,2,John Shores,26,Kalos,3,Karen Garst,31,Kim Anne Whittemore,1,Klym,24,Larry C,5,Larry Spencer,3,Letters,149,Libby Anne,3,Log1cd1ctat3s,2,Luke,1,lungfish,1,Michael Runyan,36,Michael Sherlock,5,Mriana,17,MtlRedAtheist,1,Neal Stone,20,News,185,Nikki,1,NYdiva,2,ooglyman,2,Opinion,980,Patrice,2,Paul Hannah,1,Paul So,26,Philippe Orlando,3,Philonous,1,Politics,59,Positivist,5,psychman33,5,Rational Logic,3,Rational Okie,2,Renoliz,10,Rev Ex-Evangelist,7,RickO,3,Robert Conner,8,Ronna Russell,12,Rudy,4,Russ Hamel,2,Science,30,SeageVT,3,Shaolin,4,Simplex Munditiis,3,Son of a preacher,5,Steve Dustcircle,4,Stillunsure,4,Summerbreeze,25,Susan G. Bonella,3,Tania,22,tekHedd,2,Testimonials,1003,Thanksgiving,4,The STeWpId MoNkEy,4,TheThinkingAtheist,5,Thin-ice,4,ThinkTank,5,Tim Sledge,4,Tim Wolf,1,TinMan,1,True Anathema,4,TruthSurge,1,Ubi Dubium,4,undercover agnostic,25,unoder,7,Vadarama,2,Victor J Webster,2,Videos,102,Vyckie,10,Webmdave,9,WidePathGirl,2,WizenedSage,137,xrayman,2,xxkindofboredxx,2,Yak,9,
ltr
item
ExChristian.Net: The Proliferation of Ignorance
The Proliferation of Ignorance
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/326362729_654db1ff81_m.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/326362729_654db1ff81_t.jpg
ExChristian.Net
https://new.exchristian.net/2010/12/proliferation-of-ignorance.html
https://new.exchristian.net/
https://new.exchristian.net/
https://new.exchristian.net/2010/12/proliferation-of-ignorance.html
true
1266985040290242663
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Read more Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy