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> Isaac Asimov once said: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant

> Isaac Asimov once said: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and 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." I've often wondered what would cause the United States' empire to collapse, but see now how we've always been on a precipice. Ironically one that even financial greed can't hold together. Even Hitler was democratically elected, so given enough time the right conditions will inevitably come together for someone similar to come into power, likely states will be forced to succeed from the union when that happens etc.

unimpressive 10y ago
>Even Hitler was democratically elected This is a myth. Hitler did well at the ballot booth but could never secure the majority he needed to be elected. He was appointed Chancellor.
- credit_guy 10y ago
  I'm not sure this is relevant. As far as I know, he didn't come to power by a coup. Sure, there were lots of backroom machinations, his party didn't get outright majority, he exploited some pilitical stalemate, etc, etc, but it was all within the rules. All democracies have complex rules, the fact that he was appointed by someone else is a technicallity. For example, the 538 blog explained the other day that some candidate from Utah, unknown to the vast majority of the US voters, can technically end up president. Does that make the US not a democracy?
tpeo 10y ago
Hitler wasn't democratically elected. The Reich Chancellor was appointed by the President. It just so happened that then president Paul von Hindenburg was convinced by people on his staff to form a coalition government with the NSDAP, which had around 40% of the popular vote. Point is that, although people often point to the Nazis as some failure of democracy, they didn't sweep into power by a landslide election (Hitler ran for president against Hindenburg and lost). They were strong, but nowhere that strong. It took a lot of political maneuvering and dirty tactics until they finally seized power by exploiting the Reichstag Fire [0] in order to pass two decrees [1][2] which essentially made Hitler a dictator. Furthermore, although Nazis were anti-intellectuals, I don't think that was the key to this whole process. [0] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire [1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree [2] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933
- xorgar831 10y ago
  Thanks for the correction! That's somewhat encouraging.
codingmyway 10y ago
I thought for a while, before Trump came on the scene that, of the developed countries, it would likely be the US that would fall for an authoritarian just because they have never dealt with one and are complacent about it happening there. As if the US doesn't have its share of sociopaths. If anything capitalistic individualistic societies breed them even more.

unimpressive 10y ago

>Even Hitler was democratically elected This is a myth. Hitler did well at the ballot booth but could never secure the majority he needed to be elected. He was appointed Chancellor.

credit_guy 10y ago
I'm not sure this is relevant. As far as I know, he didn't come to power by a coup. Sure, there were lots of backroom machinations, his party didn't get outright majority, he exploited some pilitical stalemate, etc, etc, but it was all within the rules. All democracies have complex rules, the fact that he was appointed by someone else is a technicallity. For example, the 538 blog explained the other day that some candidate from Utah, unknown to the vast majority of the US voters, can technically end up president. Does that make the US not a democracy?

tpeo 10y ago

Hitler wasn't democratically elected. The Reich Chancellor was appointed by the President. It just so happened that then president Paul von Hindenburg was convinced by people on his staff to form a coalition government with the NSDAP, which had around 40% of the popular vote. Point is that, although people often point to the Nazis as some failure of democracy, they didn't sweep into power by a landslide election (Hitler ran for president against Hindenburg and lost). They were strong, but nowhere that strong. It took a lot of political maneuvering and dirty tactics until they finally seized power by exploiting the Reichstag Fire [0] in order to pass two decrees [1][2] which essentially made Hitler a dictator. Furthermore, although Nazis were anti-intellectuals, I don't think that was the key to this whole process. [0] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire [1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree [2] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933

xorgar831 10y ago
Thanks for the correction! That's somewhat encouraging.

codingmyway 10y ago

I thought for a while, before Trump came on the scene that, of the developed countries, it would likely be the US that would fall for an authoritarian just because they have never dealt with one and are complacent about it happening there. As if the US doesn't have its share of sociopaths. If anything capitalistic individualistic societies breed them even more.