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what is a person like this doing in congress He's not. He's a candidate. And not for Congress, for the position of Secretary of State of Arizona. More to th

what is a person like this doing in congress He's not. He's a candidate. And not for Congress, for the position of Secretary of State of Arizona. More to the root of the problem: People are elected by other people by popular vote, not by an intelligence or ability test. Democracy is — at its heart — a popularity contest. The theory is that the populace should be smart enough to recognize the unqualified and not vote for them. But that doesn't work as often as it should due to a number of reasons: - The influence of advertising - Political parties/political tribalism - Fear-mongering in various forms. None of these are new, and have been part of the nation's political life since its inception. But now we have new things: - People who think that education is not important - An entire industry trying to convince people that aspiring to higher education is a bad idea - The removal of foundational subjects like civics, geography, and social studies from schools The result is that the general population gets dumbed down, and is no longer able to discern who is a statesman and who is a court jester.

hprotagonist 4y ago
those aren't new things, either.
Xeoncross 4y ago
> The removal of foundational subjects So many ideas about improvement. I'll share one uncommon one: Simply reading books older than 100 years will reveal the depth of understanding lacking in modern society. I would trade any modern curriculum if students were made to read books from hundreds of years ago (they cover all subjects anyway). Even silly children's books like Pinocchio (1883) are incredibility apt at teaching proper communication and reason. Media these days is very shallow and lacking in character and understanding of the world.
- kennywinker 4y ago
  > Media these days is very shallow and lacking in character and understanding of the world. Correction: the media you’re exposing yourself to is lacking in character and understanding of the world. There is plenty of media being made now with depth and clarity that 1883 would be stunned by.
  - Xeoncross 4y ago
    Can you point to an example? I think you might be confusing information with depth of character and understanding. Yes, we have new and better information now, but the ways in which it is expresses is notably inferior to the writings I've been exposed to from the past.
    - kennywinker 4y ago
      My deep reading won’t be your deep reading, but the two standout books i’ve read recently and have changed my understanding of the world: Parable of the sower by octavia butler All about love by bell hooks Neither of those were written in the last decade - but that’s a product of me not being very aware of the literary scene - it takes a long time for works to reach me, but by the time they do it’s only good stuff. I wonder if that’s maybe some of what you’re experiencing as well - older works that stuck around have stood the test of time, while the crap got forgotten.
- Bakary 4y ago
  There has never been as big a proportion of the population that is educated and literate as what we have now. For all their wisdom, our predecessors were engaged in the same constant warfare and genocide, whilst also having more restrictive social norms and a lower tolerance of the eccentric. There's also the fact that if we are still talking about a story from 1883, it says more about the quality of that specific work than the average of the era.
  - NateEag 4y ago
    > There's also the fact that if we are still talking about a story from 1883, it says more about the quality of that specific work than the average of the era. Yes, exactly! Old things that are still remembered have passed a lot of filters, significantly raising the probability that they're worth attending to. It's not going to be true for everything, but it's a helpful role of thumb.
lotsofpulp 4y ago
>He's not. He's a candidate. And not for Congress, for the position of Secretary of State of Arizona. skilled wrote that Mark Finchem is a member of “congress”, which does not have to mean the US’s federal congress. Arizona state has its own congress, which Finchem is a member of in the Arizona House of Representatives.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  With a lowercase "c," yes "congress" can mean anything. A gathering of seven-year-olds to eat ice cream is also a lower-case "c" congress. In the context of politics, which this article is, "congress" has specific meaning. If he had meant the generalized lower-case "c" congress, he would have written "what is a person like this doing in a congress."
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    The context of skilled’s argument is one in which it is not relevant that the congress is state or federal. The important part is that the congress is a significant one, such as that of a state of 7.3M people, and the surprise that such an unqualified person is part of the contingent to lead such an important organization responsible for shaping quality of life for millions of people.

hprotagonist 4y ago

those aren't new things, either.

Xeoncross 4y ago

> The removal of foundational subjects So many ideas about improvement. I'll share one uncommon one: Simply reading books older than 100 years will reveal the depth of understanding lacking in modern society. I would trade any modern curriculum if students were made to read books from hundreds of years ago (they cover all subjects anyway). Even silly children's books like Pinocchio (1883) are incredibility apt at teaching proper communication and reason. Media these days is very shallow and lacking in character and understanding of the world.

kennywinker 4y ago
> Media these days is very shallow and lacking in character and understanding of the world. Correction: the media you’re exposing yourself to is lacking in character and understanding of the world. There is plenty of media being made now with depth and clarity that 1883 would be stunned by.
- Xeoncross 4y ago
  Can you point to an example? I think you might be confusing information with depth of character and understanding. Yes, we have new and better information now, but the ways in which it is expresses is notably inferior to the writings I've been exposed to from the past.
  - kennywinker 4y ago
    My deep reading won’t be your deep reading, but the two standout books i’ve read recently and have changed my understanding of the world: Parable of the sower by octavia butler All about love by bell hooks Neither of those were written in the last decade - but that’s a product of me not being very aware of the literary scene - it takes a long time for works to reach me, but by the time they do it’s only good stuff. I wonder if that’s maybe some of what you’re experiencing as well - older works that stuck around have stood the test of time, while the crap got forgotten.
Bakary 4y ago
There has never been as big a proportion of the population that is educated and literate as what we have now. For all their wisdom, our predecessors were engaged in the same constant warfare and genocide, whilst also having more restrictive social norms and a lower tolerance of the eccentric. There's also the fact that if we are still talking about a story from 1883, it says more about the quality of that specific work than the average of the era.
- NateEag 4y ago
  > There's also the fact that if we are still talking about a story from 1883, it says more about the quality of that specific work than the average of the era. Yes, exactly! Old things that are still remembered have passed a lot of filters, significantly raising the probability that they're worth attending to. It's not going to be true for everything, but it's a helpful role of thumb.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

>He's not. He's a candidate. And not for Congress, for the position of Secretary of State of Arizona. skilled wrote that Mark Finchem is a member of “congress”, which does not have to mean the US’s federal congress. Arizona state has its own congress, which Finchem is a member of in the Arizona House of Representatives.

reaperducer 4y ago
With a lowercase "c," yes "congress" can mean anything. A gathering of seven-year-olds to eat ice cream is also a lower-case "c" congress. In the context of politics, which this article is, "congress" has specific meaning. If he had meant the generalized lower-case "c" congress, he would have written "what is a person like this doing in a congress."
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  The context of skilled’s argument is one in which it is not relevant that the congress is state or federal. The important part is that the congress is a significant one, such as that of a state of 7.3M people, and the surprise that such an unqualified person is part of the contingent to lead such an important organization responsible for shaping quality of life for millions of people.