4 ms·

It's so much worse than that already. If corruption was the only problem we face in the US then there might be some real hope to reverse course.

bsenftner 2y ago
The corruption is caused by their short sightedness, a total lack of critical analysis capacity to see past the surface assessment of pretty much everything. The problem in the United States is that adults are no longer adults, we manufacture immature people with simplistic world views that seriously know no better, and they have the entire Republican Party hostage, a material percentage of the Democratic Party, and in general the USA is awash in a state of noncommunication because such people cannot see past their immediate assessments to find any common ground. Sure, we have real adults, but not enough to make a critical difference in the quality of our public discourse, to reverse this nose dive.
- noboostforyou 2y ago
  Bingo! And the sadder part is this isn't even anything new, but it's all come to a head now. “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.” ― Isaac Asimov, 1980
  - belter 2y ago
    Shame he did not take to the obvious conclusion that is now in evidence. The idea that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge" has been instrumentalized. This relativism is encouraged, not because people genuinely believe all views are equal, but because it neutralizes inconvenient truths. If no one can claim authority, then no one can hold power accountable.
  - AStonesThrow 2y ago
    > The strain of anti-intellectualism Perhaps part of the problem is that snooty intellectual elitists want everyone to be geopolitical geniuses and socially activist and fight for their hobby horses, when every nation, especially large ones, are in desperate need of people who mind their own business, keep their heads down, and contribute humbly to the common good. Rather than being pushed through university and having technology shoved everywhere into their faces and bombarding them with messages from liars and hucksters at every step. I honestly regret gaining knowledge about a lot of things that concern me because while “knowledge is power” it’s also known that “ignorance is bliss” because curiosity killed the cat. If we’re a nation that stands and falls on the strength of social media disputes then perhaps it’s time to let the best bots win.
    - noboostforyou 2y ago
      > are in desperate need of people who mind their own business, keep their heads down, and contribute humbly to the common good. What do you even mean by this? Unless I'm misunderstanding, your comment sounds like you are advocating for a "let them eat cake" ideology. Do you think our current administration exemplifies the three things you say we are in desperate need of?
      - AStonesThrow 2y ago
        “Our current administration” idk wtf you even mean, because my leadership is significantly different than yours except for whoever’s in DC. And you’ve hit the nail on the head there, because rather than placing our family first, community and local concerns ahead of all else, or loving who we are and where we’re at, we’re wrapped up in a self-inflicted TDS dystopia that surely consists of a 7-layer burrito of illusions and fantasy, because politics is a reality show that is often scripted.
        noboostforyou 2y ago
        > “Our current administration” idk wtf you even mean This is a very common colloquial phrase assuming you are from the US - it refers to the President and their administration. Can you answer the question now?
- mmmpetrichor 2y ago
  In the past, I think the two party system somewhat protected against this. The complete capture of the party by trump has removed the system's ability to guard against this. Most senior republicans from a generation ago would recoil at what is happening in their party today. but many of the ones around during the trump takeover were absolutely spineless during his first administration, and things are far worse now.
belter 2y ago
The full text now: "The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared..." https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-... "Here are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43481521 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43481521

bsenftner 2y ago

The corruption is caused by their short sightedness, a total lack of critical analysis capacity to see past the surface assessment of pretty much everything. The problem in the United States is that adults are no longer adults, we manufacture immature people with simplistic world views that seriously know no better, and they have the entire Republican Party hostage, a material percentage of the Democratic Party, and in general the USA is awash in a state of noncommunication because such people cannot see past their immediate assessments to find any common ground. Sure, we have real adults, but not enough to make a critical difference in the quality of our public discourse, to reverse this nose dive.

noboostforyou 2y ago
Bingo! And the sadder part is this isn't even anything new, but it's all come to a head now. “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.” ― Isaac Asimov, 1980
- belter 2y ago
  Shame he did not take to the obvious conclusion that is now in evidence. The idea that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge" has been instrumentalized. This relativism is encouraged, not because people genuinely believe all views are equal, but because it neutralizes inconvenient truths. If no one can claim authority, then no one can hold power accountable.
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  > The strain of anti-intellectualism Perhaps part of the problem is that snooty intellectual elitists want everyone to be geopolitical geniuses and socially activist and fight for their hobby horses, when every nation, especially large ones, are in desperate need of people who mind their own business, keep their heads down, and contribute humbly to the common good. Rather than being pushed through university and having technology shoved everywhere into their faces and bombarding them with messages from liars and hucksters at every step. I honestly regret gaining knowledge about a lot of things that concern me because while “knowledge is power” it’s also known that “ignorance is bliss” because curiosity killed the cat. If we’re a nation that stands and falls on the strength of social media disputes then perhaps it’s time to let the best bots win.
  - noboostforyou 2y ago
    > are in desperate need of people who mind their own business, keep their heads down, and contribute humbly to the common good. What do you even mean by this? Unless I'm misunderstanding, your comment sounds like you are advocating for a "let them eat cake" ideology. Do you think our current administration exemplifies the three things you say we are in desperate need of?
    - AStonesThrow 2y ago
      “Our current administration” idk wtf you even mean, because my leadership is significantly different than yours except for whoever’s in DC. And you’ve hit the nail on the head there, because rather than placing our family first, community and local concerns ahead of all else, or loving who we are and where we’re at, we’re wrapped up in a self-inflicted TDS dystopia that surely consists of a 7-layer burrito of illusions and fantasy, because politics is a reality show that is often scripted.
      - noboostforyou 2y ago
        > “Our current administration” idk wtf you even mean This is a very common colloquial phrase assuming you are from the US - it refers to the President and their administration. Can you answer the question now?
mmmpetrichor 2y ago
In the past, I think the two party system somewhat protected against this. The complete capture of the party by trump has removed the system's ability to guard against this. Most senior republicans from a generation ago would recoil at what is happening in their party today. but many of the ones around during the trump takeover were absolutely spineless during his first administration, and things are far worse now.

belter 2y ago

The full text now: "The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared..." https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-... "Here are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43481521 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43481521