Brain Dead America

Brain Dead America
Americas march towards national ignorance is accelerated by our
media, our leadership and our own laziness.

R.W.Barker 3\24\05 The Netherlands

Once well educated with critical thinking skills and intellectual acumen,
philanthropic goals and active citizens willing to confront power made up a
small yet vocal portion of America. Today 2008 the body of America is at risk.

Once America paid attention to the intellectuals on a certain level, now
with Rush and others railing against thinking they are considered elitist and
snobs. Meanwhile the limited ideologues with less education or international
acumen are our sources, for intelligence.

Now we bath in ignorance, and misguided leadership that we are no longer
willing to confront, this loss of critical thinking skills, lead us to our
sheepish demise.

Do we remember the sixties, with its emphasis on social change, political
awareness, race relations, and philosophy of furthering human dignity at the
forefront. America rated number one in most educational categories, now we are
21st and sinking.

We were introspective, willing to take a chance, inquisitive and aware of
the many skeletons in our closet. We were not afraid to look the truth in the
eye, we developed a critical thinking capacity that allowed for the dirty
laundry to be displayed and dealt with.

We were willing to admit our failings and regaled our positive attributes,
as well.

There was a feeling in the air that we could change things, perhaps improve
mans fate, lift up the downtrodden to the level playing field we all desire.

Power of and to the people not pervasive government were emphasized, a back
to the natural state of man became a goal of the counter culture.

In the sixties and early seventies we looked toward a better world with
equal opportunity for all men, we were humanist that understood the human being
can be the savior or destroyer of the planet, it is a conscious choice. We
faced environmental problems or social injustice with objective minds and equal
zest.

Students by the hundreds of thousands stood up to the illogical and ill
advised war of Vietnam. Determined protestors with a common goal of furthering
peace and understanding filled the streets, and stood in solidarity. Injustice
was dealt with head on, we developed a media that provided, both sides of an
issue. Open government became the new paradigm we believed in.

Our baby boomer generation were less intimidated by Communism and most of
us understood that this Russian totalitarian communism was a doomed system,
yet we embraced aspects of the socialist agenda.

Eclectic and outside the box thinkers were in vogue, alternatives and
nonconformist individualism encouraged, within the fold of our generation.

Rejecting the robot education system for a more humanized socialization
process, that strived to include an acceptable level of individualism.

The young of that generation experimented with Eastern religion, communal
living, Earth awareness, alternative parenting, and new lifestyle approaches
that often reverted back to our pioneer roots.

Our heroes were Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Stokley Carmichael,
Nelson Mandela, Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Mead, Carl Jung, Timothy Leary, Che
Guevara, John Kennedy, and many more.

Today the ignorant lead us, like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson,
Bork, Dobson, all very anti Intelligentsia and preaching fear and ignorance
to help dumb up America.

In the sixties and early seventies there was a feeling in the air that
this generation was about to bring on a fresh sprit and new outlook to a lost
world, the dawning of the age of Aquarius, and flower power filled the air.

Hope for a better tomorrow rang out to the world. the youth from Paris to LA
united for a better planet. We declared to the universe, "we are here to
change the negative into the positive, to bring a stronger sense of justice to
the world."

What positive goals and objectives we shared, what a vision for tomorrow we
held up to the globe, we were exercising liberty at its finest. It was great
to be alive! American education system was among the finest in the world we
were rated number one in many categories, our students were true leaders of
the world in intellectual acumen.

Today we have apathetic students, willing to fold and follow the Status Quo,
less educated we now rank far down on the world chart of the educated.

Trepidation and mistrust permeate our country in a time of plenty,
intellectualism is dying and academic debate often reduced to a shouting match
between extreme ideologues.

Our philosophers of great influence have become right wing fascist like Leo
Strauss, instead of humanitarian thinkers like Carl Jung or Spinoza.

Outdated religious dogma replaces philosophical dialogue, we had "Jesus
freaks" then, that preached the love of God, today we have Evangelicals that
teach the Prosperity Gospels.

What happened to the American Intellectuals, are they diminished by lack of
understanding on the part of the public?

First our education system has failed us and becomes a promoter of American
ignorance, people are no longer encouraged to ask questions and probe for
truth just learn to accept all they are told, without question.

Anti intellectual radio pundits like Rush the pill popping Limbaugh, scream
that the intelligentsia in America are enemies of the USA.

Words like liberal or progressive have been demonized by constant propaganda
spewing from the Right wing radio and other media.

Lies that are easily provable in reality are accepted as Gospel truth
because Rush or Hannity said so.

Where is the critical thinkers and logical minds that discerned the truth in
the sixties? Gone with the wind or shoved into a corner by these ignorant
promoters of a dumber America.

We read less, discern far less, we have lost most of our critical thinking
skills for a blubber brain that lets others do our thinking and we call it
the Ditto Heads factor.

People that will Ditto anything the lying right wing pundits tell them like
puppets that repeat something they do not understand. Gone are the heroes of
academic striving, replaced by media bigots and narrow minded evangelical
types that hate the thinking person.

Thinking people see through their rhetoric and lies so what fun are they
you cannot fool those folks as easily as the Sheeples that follow
unquestionably.

Private Christian schools grow more popular in America, these so called
schools teach Creationism as if it were science. Christian Schools throw away any
science that does not fit their anti intellectual criteria, leaving us more
ignorant daily.

Fear breeds ignorance
As fear from 9\11 the elusive terrorist and other trepidation based stimuli
are thrown up as crowd control and mind control, we sink deeper into the
ignorance abyss.

Scenarios of the 9\11 catastrophe made little sense, but they knew we would
swallow it whole and we did. The dumber we are the more fearful and backward
we become, reason kills fear but fear can kill reason just as well.

The mass media promote ignorance by selective reporting and misleading
journalism geared toward promotion of American ignorance.

A republic or democracy is only as strong as its information, informed
citizens are tantamount to a dynamic and progressive democratic state.

Without proper information we are uninformed ignorant and susceptible to
lies and propaganda we cannot see through.

Leadership in America now reflect this anti intellectual agenda, our
president has trouble with diction and simple pronunciation, his lack of
sophistication or international acumen are a source of pride for many.

We see Dick Cheney tell a lie over and over about the terror connections in
Iraq. In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he spews this
prevarication repeatedly. Every one else in the know, tells us this is not true!

Yet Dick continues to lie, because THERE ARE NO REPRECUSSIONS, and he
knows the ignorant will believe it, if repeated often enough!

Watch as professors all over America complain about the lack of objective
political debate over democratic ideas.

Flags are forced on collages classrooms in Florida squashing the debate on
Nationalism, as the omnipresent symbol hangs over their heads like a warning
to not criticize too much.

America the ignorant and proud of it, ignorance I can understand but pride
in lack of acumen is unforgivable.

It is A citizen's duty in A REPUBLIC TO KEEP INFORMED AND A CRITICAL EYE ON
THOSE WE CALL LEADERS!

R. W. Barker

Mr Barker holds advance degrees in history and sociology is a world traveler
for over thirty years, a professional photographer, writer, political
activist and former entertainer, he resides in the Netherlands and California.

The platform of James Wright creates a solid foundation for Americans to secure the future of America.