Republican distrust of expertise

[Secret Chief]

This article makes an attempt to address it:Britishness and anti-intellectualism

Maybe partly because we English got our revolution out of the way early and have been suspicious of radicalism ever since.

Good grief that was jolly interesting (I've bookmarked the site ). Boris Johnson is (a) Burke.

 

[Augustus]

That's interesting. If there is truth in it, I wonder why that would be so?

One thing that might be of some relevance is a tradition of hostility towards elites.

For centuries after the time of the Normans, England was ruled by a wealthy, cosmopolitan 'foreign' elite who spoke a foreign language and were often oppressive and contemptuous towards the lower classes.

Even today the formal/posh/legalistic terms tend to be from Latin and the 'common' terms tend to be Germanic (vehicle v car, collision v crash, etc.)

Boris Johnson is (a) Burke.

I always used to think 'berk' was a really mild insult until I found out it's etymology

 

[Secret Chief]

I always used to think 'berk' was a really mild insult until I found out it's etymology

You learn something every day.

 

[tytlyf]

Republicans have been primed to hate education for decades. It's a way to smear intellectuals, science, experts, Democrats, etc. If the college educated populace voted Republican, you wouldn't see this propaganda and demonization.
This is also a warning sign of Fascism. (Disdain for intellectuals and the Arts)

 

[F1fan]

The "right" is now, and especially in the U.S., an echo-chamber for the plutocracy that the U.S. has become. The "ideals" that right wing media espouses are all basically just capitalist propaganda, and the right's politicians are all basically just toadies for the same. The "right" is not an ideological movement, as it pretends to be. It's an elaborate advertising campaign touting the values of the wealthy elites that now control government and media, and have taken aim at either controlling or eliminating higher education. And they are making progress in that direction even as they complain and label higher education an "enemy of the people". The only thing higher education is the enemy of is the profound ignorance that the corporate elitists depend on to maintain their stranglehold on the nation.

That's a good assessment. It seems some of them are going farther and farther right to make right wing policies have that "new car smell" and "new and improved" to keep the base motivated. But I suspect this extremism and lack of cooperation is going to backfire as these polices create less freedom and more oppression. These polices are aimed at fewer and fewer people, and even with election restrictions there will certainly be a distaste for the effects of these laws and policies.

 

[F1fan]

The thing about learning is that it takes time and discipline. To understand why evolution is a sound explanation for the diversity of life on the planet means understanding a lot of various facts about nature. It's complex, and not easily understood.

In contrast to believe anything is quite easy. The argument against evolution is as simple as "God did it, it says so in the Bible" and a person caught between their family/social beliefs versus education will be tempted to follow the path of least resistance and that is the good feeling to belong. The tribal influence to believe is coercive and powerful. It acts on the non-rational parts of the brain, and the emotions this coercion affects can trigger the reward centers of the brain. This becomes a sort of Pavlov's Dog phenomenon, and the tribal believer gets a fix every time they are in a position to defend their beliefs against expertise and knowledge.

 

[ecco]

The rest of the colleges are OK with the right.

Here is a partial list of those that are probably OK with the right.

American Baptist College Nashville, Tennessee National Baptist Convention [2]
Anderson University Anderson, South Carolina South Carolina Baptist Convention [3]
Baptist Bible College (Missouri) Springfield, Missouri Baptist Bible Fellowship International
Baptist College of Florida Graceville, Florida Florida Baptist Convention
Baptist University of the Américas San Antonio, Texas Baptist General Convention of Texas
Baylor University Waco, Texas Baptist General Convention of Texas [4]
Benedict College Columbia, South Carolina American Baptist Churches USA
Bethel University (Minnesota) Arden Hills, Minnesota Converge [5]
Blue Mountain College Blue Mountain, Mississippi Mississippi Baptist Convention [6]
Bluefield College Bluefield, VA Baptist General Association of Virginia [7]
Boston Baptist College Boston, Massachusetts Baptist Bible Fellowship International
Boyce College Louisville, Kentucky (run in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) Southern Baptist Convention [8]
Brewton-Parker College Mount Vernon, Georgia Georgia Baptist Convention [6]
California Baptist University Riverside, California California Southern Baptist Convention [9]
Campbell University Buies Creek, North Carolina Baptist State Convention of North Carolina [9]
Carson-Newman University Jefferson City, Tennessee Tennessee Baptist Convention [10]
Cedarville University Cedarville, Ohio endorsed by the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio [11]
Central Baptist College Conway, Arkansas Baptist Missionary Association of America [12]
Charleston Southern University Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina Baptist Convention [13]
Chesapeake Baptist College and Seminary Severn, Maryland Independent Baptist
Chowan University Murfreesboro, North Carolina Baptist State Convention of North Carolina [13]
Clarks Summit University (Baptist Bible College PA) Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Independent Baptist
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College Pineville, Kentucky Kentucky Baptist Convention [14]
Commonwealth Baptist College Lexington, Kentucky Independent Baptist
Criswell College Dallas, Texas Southern Baptists of Texas Convention [15]
Crown College Powell, Tennessee Independent Baptist [16]
University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, Kentucky Kentucky Baptist Convention [14]
Dallas Baptist University Dallas, Texas Baptist General Convention of Texas [14]
East Texas Baptist University

 

[Secret Chief]

This is also a warning sign of Fascism. (Disdain for intellectuals and the Arts)

Indeed. Straight in at number 10. Play fascism bingo with your country:

1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for human rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. Rampant sexism
5. Controlled mass media
6. Obsession with national security
7. Religion and government intertwined
8. Corporate power protected
9. Labor power suppressed
10. Disdain for intellectual and the arts
11. Obsession with crime and punishment
12. Rampant cronyism and corruption

 

[ecco]

Without more context, it's hard to know exactly why they might have this view.

Here is one reason colleges and universities teach science. Science contradicts the Bible.

Conclusion: God - good; Education - bad.

That may sound like an oversimplification, but I think it can be supported by comments from posters on RF.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Republicans have been primed to hate education for decades. It's a way to smear intellectuals, science, experts, Democrats, etc. If the college educated populace voted Republican, you wouldn't see this propaganda and demonization.
This is also a warning sign of Fascism. (Disdain for intellectuals and the Arts)

No doubt Harvard and Yale is fascist.

Thanks for the info.

 

[PureX]

That's a good assessment. It seems some of them are going farther and farther right to make right wing policies have that "new car smell" and "new and improved" to keep the base motivated. But I suspect this extremism and lack of cooperation is going to backfire as these polices create less freedom and more oppression. These polices are aimed at fewer and fewer people, and even with election restrictions there will certainly be a distaste for the effects of these laws and policies.

Yup, they're selling selfishness as a virtue by calling it freedom. (Freedom from having to give a damn about anyone but 'me and mine'.) This isn't the ideology of the common man, it's the ideology of the wealthy elites: of those who have much and don't want to share any. So is the whole 'our willful ignorance is actually homey wisdom' schtick that the right is always touting and implying, and using to discredit higher education. The rich don't want the common rabble getting educated beyond the level of job training. Educated employees want more money, or they'll go out and start their own businesses, and become the competition. Or worse yet, they'll start asking ethical questions about who's running this show and what their agenda is. And why life is so difficult for so many in the wealthiest nation on Earth. Next thing you know they'll start to unionize the common rabble against the wealthy elites, God forbid!!!

 

[Wandering Monk]

Evilution. This is where the distrust of expertise starts.

Scopes Trial - Wikipedia

 

[metis]

Report on growing Republican distrust of higher education.
The majority of Republicans say colleges are bad for America (yes, really)

Is university education an élitist conspiracy by radical, left-leaning liberals intent on indoctrinating our innocent, God-fearing youth with critical thinking, atheism, evolution, socialism &al?
Are experts and "people who know things" a danger to traditional, American values?

Thoughts?

And I saw a poll about a year ago that had about 40% of people who say they are Pubs have more faith in Trump than in the Constitution.

 

[pearl]

And I saw a poll about a year ago that had about 40% of people who say they are Pubs have more faith in Trump than in the Constitution.

They know Trump's political agenda, they have probably never read the Constitution and even by the slim chance they have no respect for it.

 

[metis]

They know Trump's political agenda, they have probably never read the Constitution and even by the slim chance they have no respect for it.

I remember decades ago that a group of college students on an assignment read the Declaration of Independence to some adults, and a high proportion of them rejected it.

 

[F1fan]

When I was in Jr High school we had to learn the state constitution and be tested on it. It was a big part of our social studies grade so most of us took it very seriously.

 

[exchemist]

Good grief that was jolly interesting (I've bookmarked the site ). Boris Johnson is (a) Burke.

You are too polite. He is a berk. About 200 lbs of Prime Berkshire.

 

[Stevicus]

Here is one reason colleges and universities teach science. Science contradicts the Bible.

Conclusion: God - good; Education - bad.

That may sound like an oversimplification, but I think it can be supported by comments from posters on RF.

Yeah, although sometimes they like science when it fits within their agenda. Weapons technology, for example. They like science when it comes to things like that. That's what makes it more difficult to accept.

You'd think it would be the opposite. I could see it if religion rejects any science involved in war or the taking of human life, but in practice, they reject science involved in the study of human life, such as evolution, or the preservation of human life, such as vaccines.

 

[Kooky]

Demagogues tend to have something real to work with. It is pure pretense to say that higher education as a whole isn't left-biased in America. That's the reality of decades of left ideologues aiming themselves at every level of education and a right-predisposition towards moving into industry that has led to a significant imbalance in the political spectrum on campus.

One could try to examine where this perception comes from, what the roots and causes of this alleged phenomenon might be, and what it actually means to be a "leftist" in academia, but sadly nobody seems to be particularly interested in that, seemingly too busy wringing their hands over Marxist Cancel Culture Destroying Freedom and America or whatever is the moral panic du jour in anglophone anti-youth discourse these days.

 

[Valjean]

Mister Emu said: ↑
Demagogues tend to have something real to work with. It is pure pretense to say that higher education as a whole isn't left-biased in America. That's the reality of decades of left ideologues aiming themselves at every level of education and a right-predisposition towards moving into industry that has led to a significant imbalance in the political spectrum on campus.

But it's the Right that sets up think-tanks specifically to promote deregulation and free-trade, and right-wing political organizations. It's the Right that endows university departments and chairs -- with the proviso that they choose the professors.

The left is nowhere near that organized.