I like the electoral college maps in the background.
Will the voters in this country wake up someday and realize what an absolutely colossal mess they got us into? Or will they be so embarrassed that we will never admit their folly?
Or asking the same question in a completely different way, will we ever really recover from this mess, or is this the beginning of the end for a once proud nation that declared itself “the land of the free and the home of the brave”?
9 Comments
Coincidentally this election has boosted history in colleges by trying to ask the question “How the &*£$ did we get here?”
https://qz.com/1000017/brexit-and-donald-trump-are-excellent-news-for-one-college-major/
And based on Trump voter demographics, education about how Trump won and education in general, should prevent this in the future https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/upshot/this-list-of-well-educated-districts-explains-why-georgias-election-is-close.html
These are the same people moving south to “get away from the cold” My ex daughter in law and her husband bought a tiny 300K house in south Florida that needed tons of money for fixing up. Septic, windows, etc etc. 2600 foot house in Western Ny move in ready 4 and a half acres $160,000. Global warming in western NY means you use less heat in winter.
There will be no buyers for those houses in Florida 1) when the houses go under water, 2) when the 2 degrees hits. Great book called “HOT”
Her husband goes from one job to another and could live anywhere.
Those that voted for Trump are not voting for the future, they are voting for today.
“Will the voters in this country wake up someday and realize what an absolutely colossal mess they got us into? Or will they be so embarrassed that we will never admit their folly?”
No, I don’t think they will. Many of those who voted that way don’t think that elections actually have consequences and all the mess that’s going on is smoke and mirrors. They think liberals and progressives are snobbish elites that need to be taken down a few notches, and they see Trump as doing that. They don’t actually care about his agenda, because they think federal agendas don’t actually affect them in any way.
So the mess (a) isn’t affecting them (to their knowledge) and (b) pisses off people that they don’t like. Why change?
I’m with Michael. If they educated themselves on the facts before the election, we wouldn’t be here. I don’t see them educating themselves now.
I heard or saw something, that people are not dating outside of their political beliefs. That is certainly a game changer. All those offspring will never have a chance to become thinking adults.
I would never move to Florida, or anywhere south because of either the land sinking, water shortages in the west, or the inability of our power grid to keep air conditioning going as the weather turns hotter. We should all start migrating north instead of south. My kids keep talking about moving and I just say no. We are surrounded by rivers and usable water is going to be the next big issue as the world heats up.
“Will we ever recover from this mess?” Probably not in my lifetime, if ever. But I’m old, I’m a pessimist, and Trump sucks, big time.
Wildwood, that dating article came out about 8 months ago or so, saying that politics(race before that) is the new religion in regards to where people draw the lines with whom they will date.
I agree with Michael to a point,but i think it comes down to false equivalency that many people accept (and practice) these days. Obama played golf so it’s the same, the democrats paneled the healthcare for 11 seasions, so us not doing it at all is okay too.
It is unfortunate that far too many people don’t know what a fact is, and few know how to check them. It’s been discussed here before but the left is worse when it comes to vaccination rates because they are more likely to subscribe to holistic healing. The right tends to turn a blind eye regarding Christian beliefs (and the separation of church and state notion) and evolution.
In short, a little education is a dangerous thing.
Bertrand Russell said “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wise people so full of doubts.”
“Will the voters in this country wake up someday and realize what an absolutely colossal mess they got us into?”
No, because somehow they find themselves blameless in all things.
“Or will they be so embarrassed that we will never admit their folly?”
Not this either. They actually consider “pissing off libtards” or “anti-abortion supreme court justices” to be things worth fighting for and as long as they get those, they win, whatever the heck that means in this context.
While I agree with all those who agreed with me 🙂 I think it’s important to make a distinction between education and cognitive biases. It’s tempting to frame the discussion as focusing on the ignorance of voters with whom you disagree. That’s a mistake for a few reasons. First, it feeds the sense of elitism that leads to antipathy and contrarian backlash. Second, it actually misses the real issue.
Climate change denial, opposition to a government role in health care, etc., are all very natural positions when you consider the availability heuristic. The Maldives are going to disappear? Like I’m ever going to travel there. Millions of the near-poor are about to lose their health insurance? They should eat better, exercise, and get better jobs like the one I have.
It’s not about presenting facts and evidence. It’s convincing people that those facts are important and worth valuing. That’s not a lack of education. It’s a lack of empathy. And it’s compounded when you feel your concerns (which may or may not be legitimate) are ignored or dismissed out of hand.
You raise a good point Michael. I agree with you. Empathy or lack of probably pays a big part in the voting decision of a lot of educated voters. Look at wealthy billionaires like Thiel, Icahn etc. For them Trump was their choice because he would lower regulations, make it easier for them to grow their billions. Thiel is arguably a brilliant individual and so is Icahn.
However i think some of those educated voters who lack empathy are probably missing the big picture. The more poor some people get the more desperate they get. As a result crime will increase. Do wealthy educated people who lack empathy really want to live in a secluded island for the rest of their lives, far away as possible from desperation and disease. Or do they want to contribute to ensure that we take care of the poor so that they contribute to society? If the ultra wealthy want lower taxes then the poor and middle class will share a smaller percentage of the wealth. Therefore they will spend less and therefore the businesses that they ultra wealthy run will make smaller and smaller profits. They will probably take a higher percentage of the profits but ultimately there has to be a tipping point.
I think Warren Buffet and Bill Gates are ideal examples of ultra wealthy educated voters who see the big picture.