There is a cult of ignorance in the United States. 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. —Isaac Asimov
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Why did the vast majority of educated people vote for Harris and the Democratic Party’s agenda?
The answer’s in the question.
Education.
That doesn’t mean educated people are necessarily more intelligent than uneducated people. It certainly doesn’t mean they’re “better” or morally superior. It’s just that educated people know things uneducated people don’t.
Educated people know more history which is important because as the Spanish philosopher George Santayana said: “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Educated people know about the conditions that gave rise to authoritarianism in 20th-century Germany. They know the machinations of tyrants.
Educated people know that the foundational principles of the United States are rooted in secular humanism, not Christian nationalism.
Educated people know that the polity of the United States is based on checks and balances and the rule of law, not the whims of a president.
Educated people know the probable consequences of particular policies. Data and statistics matter.
Educated people trust science, not conspiracy theories. Without science we fumble in the dark.
Trump voters aren’t stupid. Okay, maybe some are. But the same goes for Harris voters. It’s a statistical thing as in “one-out-of-every-so-many people are stupid.”
Stupidity’s a condition. It can’t be helped.
Ignorance is a choice. It can be helped. The antidote to ignorance is education.
Still, some educated people aren’t very smart.
My mother reached eighth grade and then had to get a job. Education’s a good thing, she told me often. Just don’t let it go to your head.
And that’s smart because education, like wealth, can delude you into thinking you’re better than others. And smart people aren’t fooled. No one likes to be looked down upon. It creates resentment.
Still, this is no time to disparage education. It’s time to promote and cultivate it even more.
There’s an education gap in our country. And that—just like the wealth gap—needs fixin’.
Not everyone needs higher education. But everyone needs higher intelligence and deeper wisdom.
And a little more grace and humility wouldn’t hurt either.
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What a superb blog! Education, rightly understood, can turn mirrors into windows. It allows one to get “the big picture.” It can expand the mind and heart with deeper understanding, insight, wisdom, and compassion. “Being educated” doesn’t make you “better,” only more informed. Education is bigger than formal schooling which Mark Twain commented might “interfere with your education.” A popular adage says, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Unfortunately, we are currently suffering the consequences of that reality as the result of the national election.
looking forewad to reading it!
So very well said my friend! Education was cherished in our home. My father went to night school for years, and always knew so much as he helped me with my homework. He finally graduated from college when I was in high school. My mother, too, quit school in the 8th grade to work. She was a smart, grounded, fun & loving woman. She finally got her GED when I was in high school. Our family loved to read – especially James Michener & Charles Dickens. Dad & I read & recited poetry together, especially Lord Byron & Emily Dickinson & Robert Frost. My family helped me through college as a single mom, graduating in ‘88 with a BS in Nursing (& lots of extra liberal arts courses including History, Anthropology , Music, French, Spanish, English & Philosophy & Logic.) I thank God & my family for these simple gifts.
So true, & spot on, your words today. Thank you, brother!
Is this book based on your Lifelong Learning course, Jesus before Christianity?
Yes, but only in part. Book goes beyond that course’s content. Thanks for asking.
Allow me to suggest another way of reading the data: The majority of people for whom the current system is not working voted for Trump. Education happens to be one of the privileges in a society that lacks equality.
Good point!
Great piece my friend. Hits a bunch of places in my heart. My parents met at college. Dad barely made it through seminary. But they lacked the wonder, curiosity to explore and question. They were anchored to religion that needed ignorance. They believed too much education could block the Holy Spirit. Funny how that religion and fascism require ignorance.
People with less formal education knew enough to know that the Democrats had abandoned the working class, and they were angry about that. Carol
One thing that never ceased to amaze me, when teaching high school seniors, was the astounding lack of critical, analytical thinking in my students. (Certainly not all, by any measure, but glaringly too many.) I’ve continued to asking others my age, meaning old, where did we learn this skill? Though critical thinking wasn’t necessarily universal in the industrial dark ages of the 1950s and ’60s. All I’ve been able to determine, with my mini straw poll of inquiry, is that this ability to ask questions and to further investigate issues flowed from multiple sources within the community, meaning school–at least a random teacher here and there–church, home, and social organizations. The oft repeated adage around my house was, “If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.” There seemed an invisible force out there to always strive to know more and to never embrace the first one or even 20 answers one might discover. Always question. Always seek to know more. As Joni Mitchell sings, “life is for learning.”
The educated commenters on this blog actually believed Iowa would go to Harris by three points. Hmmm.
I’ll speak for myself – I did not. But I believe we all know that the constitution & the peaceful transfer of power are to be respected.
Educated people like to make educated guesses based on data, but the data and the guesses are sometimes wrong.
In 1786, Jefferson wrote to a colleague about public education: “No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom, and happiness…. Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against [the evils of “kings, nobles and priests”], and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.”
Many thanks for a very appropriate and astute comment!
I think that you hit the target when you mentioned wisdom. I would add wisdom gained from experience. There were many, many, many well educated people that supported the Vietnam War. Educated people with whom you could not have a logical debate. It was simply “my country, right or wrong.” I thought about writing a blog entitled, “What would my father think.” The generation that came out of WWII had a firm opinion of fascism (Not on my watch). The new challenge to democracy was Communism that also made them firm in their opinion (not on my watch). It seems that this opinion has lingered and unfortunately broadened into a firm opinion on socialism as well (not on my watch). So it seems the key is wisdom gained from experience. The generation of WWII lived through the horrors of fascism, the deaths, the displacement of peoples, unquestioned nationalism. I believe that experience would have enabled them to plainly see what is happening as Trump and Project 2025 begins to control the landscape and the lives of so many. In response, they would have loudly projected the voice of experience: NOT ON MY WATCH.
So raise a hearty glass to that generation and the wisdom gained from experience. Let us hope that it does not take long for our current citizens to learn from what we all will experience.
Yes!
I see a lot of people saying that Democrats abandoned the working class. That’s a bizarre take if you actually look at data and policy. Even Bernie Sanders is wrong on that one. Biden was the most pro labor candidate in half a century. Real wages rose highest among the working class from 2019-2023. Biden was the first President to march a picket line. This media narrative that dems abandoned the working class is simply not true. Child tax credit increase, help with home buying loans, covering the cost of in home senior care those were all initiatives in. The works. The list goes on…I’m baffled why anyone would think otherwise, if they were “educated”.
I wholeheartedly agree.
Great post, all of it. Education, it has to be said, does not lead inevitably towards wisdom, or particular political choices, or even to decency. Some of the most highly educated people in history were stinkers in private and/or public life. But in general, I think you are correct that if everyone had the time, opportunity, and inclination to learn more, the winners of elections in both Parties would have to say and do things that met higher standards, at least of effectiveness and accuracy.
Great thoughts, as usual. How do we find a way? My thoughts: keep writing. Maybe something will arise from you internal observations…
This morning I laid in bed, the sun not yet up (your blog not yet out), and mused on public education and what the Trump years have in store for us. How do we live with a tyrant? I wondered.
I teach high schoolers American Literature. Two months ago, I had them write their own Declarations of Independence to whomever was a tyrant in their lives.
Around 50 (maybe more) out of 120 students, chose someone in their educational journey: teacher, principal, the school board, or the superintendent of schools.
They had to list grievances. To name a few: too much homework; busy work; poor heating and cooling; discipline and punishment policies; the banning of cell phones; nutrient poor and unappetizing breakfast and lunch; waking up early; and having to take classes they don’t want or need (like a fourth year of math).
In brief, education is tyranny. Policies are hosed down on them. Expectations too. From parents, teachers, colleges, future employers, and whatever it is we count as culture.
Tyranny abounds. It is ubiquitous. You don’t have to go far to find, call out, or resist a tyrant.
We can start fighting tyranny and reforming education by giving students more of a say in their education.
“…but everyone needs deeper wisdom.” Love this Randy. Thank you.
Heather Cox Richardson’s post yesterday offers background on the US Dept. of Education. You may have to download the free app, Substack to read, but maybe not.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-16-2024
The last paragraph is notable:
In 1786, Jefferson wrote to a colleague about public education: “No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom, and happiness…. Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against [the evils of “kings, nobles and priests”], and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.”
My first thought was Indian boarding schools of the 1900s, of southern church-backed private schools to end run integration, college for most not for some.
There is a current shifting of large amounts of funds from public schools to homeschooling and private schools in the name of choice.
The 21st century classrooms and curriculum are changing. The are hosted and taught online by influencers and news presenters, with the later hoping they can quit their day job to be millionaire influencers.
Professor Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prepping for its turn.
Billy Bob Joe knows a country boy will survive. He’s not too sure about you. He does not have a bumper sticker saying, “Intellectualism is the enemy.” He clearly knows the price of gas and eggs. He heard Haitians eat pets. He got this knowledge from an unlearned man in the 2024 election, who addressed economic and immigration issues in a manner they could readily understand.
Education is a wonderful thing. Knowledge is evolving. Know thyself seems to be a good start.
After taking seriously for over two decades now that call to know thyself, it seems true to me that unconscious habits of defending oneself not only keep us from truly being present to whatever life is calling us to pay attention to, but also interfere with the ability to effectively tap into all three centers of our God-given intelligence – body, heart, and head. Some seem to be stuck in one or two while others in another one or two. We can talk about hundreds of different problems in society, but until we understand our own motivations and work on taming our all-too-often reactive natures, I believe we put the cart before the horse.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed, and love of power. -P.J. O’Rourke, writer (b. 14 Nov 1947)
I, too, as a former educator, value education. However, we have often been told that Germany in the first half of the 20th century was the most highly educated country in Europe, perhaps the world. Education cannot be equated with wisdom, morality, or concern for others.
One form of education that is of paramount importance for anyone living in a democracy is critical thinking skills.
Essentially, it would be better if more people knew how to detect bias or slant in a news story (or any sales pitch), and how to identify the use of vague and inflammatory language designed to elicit an emotional response.
I remember being taught that in public school back in the 1980s when I was in the fifth grade. Nowadays, I talk to college freshmen who are learning this stuff for the first time in their lives!
Nobody is born with the ability to think critically, it’s a skill that is taught and learned. Nowadays, it’s increasingly exclusive to the elites with a higher education, and we’ve begun to reap the “benefits.”