I had a professor in college who would say, "There is no such thing as a stupid question." I felt like my classmates proved him wrong weekly. One day someone in my class responded to the professor's reminder with some cliche of his own: "There are no stupid questions. Just stupid people." I think my classmate was onto something.
Some people in this world who will blow you away with their sheer stupidity. If you don't think this is true, hang out on a college campus in the South after the home team wins. You'll see the wake of stupidity all over the place. On the other hand, some questions are just asinine. I am reminded of this every time I watch a Presidential debate. (Doesn't anybody screen those questions!?)
A new poll was released today by CBS News and Vanity Fair, and I can't determine which element is at work in this case. The questions were all over the place, but the answers were bizarre. Here are some highlights:
- Nearly half of Americans chose Wal-Mart as the "the institution that best symbolizes America today."
- Politicians taking bribes is considered "by far the greater sin" when staked against extramarital affairs. 37 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
- Though the majority of people admire the President and want to trade places with Obama for a week, many people believe he is going to wait to pull our troops out of Afghanistan until an election year.
- Half of the respondents think taxing wealthy Americans by "at least 50 percent" is a great idea.
I don't know what it is about these answers that is so disconcerting, but they bother me. What about you? Do you agree or disagree with these sentiments? Are these answers the result of stupid people, stupid questions, both or neither?
Jason Jeong said:
yea, those answers turn my gut (especially the last one about taxing wealthy Americans), but hey as Forrest Gump says, "stupid is as stupid does" and some of the things that are going on in this country are pretty darn stoopid =P
Posted: September 28, 2009
Travis Mamone said:
Whoever said that Wal-Mart best represents America obviously hasn't seen PeopleOfWalMart.com. Scary stuff, man!
Posted: September 28, 2009
Ray Deck III said:
What bothers me is the double standard. We're not okay with a politician taking a bribe, but we are okay with him waiting until an election year to make a decision that will affect thousands of lives. We understand the one as unethical, but the other is accepted as savvy?!
The final answer is a little disturbing because it represents just how "main-stream" re-distribution of wealth is becoming. That is socialism, plain and simple. We used to panic when a socialist moved into our neighborhood. Now we are socialists and don't know it.
Posted: September 28, 2009
Dave said:
I think it's stupid questions and stupid people, not to demean those answering the survey. Oftentimes, surveys are confusing and misleading and people don't really understand the question in the first place. And by the way, what is the profile of the Vanity Fair reader (who is representing America with their answers)?
It's scary to think that people think of Walmart as an institution that best represents America. I wonder if one of the options (assuming this was a closed-ended survey) was a charitable organization, like the Red Cross, or one that focuses on feeding the hungry? Who really wants to be Obama, or any president, for a week? With all the stress and problems, you would age 10 years (and in a week, you couldn't really accomplish anything since our Congress "works so well").
Posted: September 28, 2009
Tyler P said:
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
-Churchill
Posted: September 28, 2009
Justin said:
Walmart - Very subjective as to how to interpret this one, but I see where the answer comes from given that Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the country, controversial, etc.
Bribes vs. Adultery - Labelled a 'sin', implying religious morality, makes this something of a trick question. Adultery would be the bigger sin, accepting bribes the bigger crime and misuse of power.
Death & Taxes - I don't think he will wait for an election year to pull out, but will probably run on pulling whatever the actual plan. Taxing the wealthy is another subjective question devoid of so much context as to be meaningless. If you asked me that question, then I might be inclined to say yes if I believed it would help curb the growing gulf between rich and poor, and in turn for me to consider that a good thing hinges on another of other beliefs and ways of understanding how capitalist-democracies work. Absent any those thoughts, if I said yes it might be because I resent the wealthy, etc. etc. etc. Likewise, if I say no it could be because I believe that taxing the wealthy more is inherently unfair, or because I am wealthy and don't want to pay more, or because I think that taxing the wealthy will hurt the economy whatever the other goals.
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
-Churchill"
The average voter is no more idiotic than most of the politicians who represent them.
Posted: September 28, 2009
Bill Beahan said:
I think there is a larger problem with ignorance. Someone said that "ignorance is the most expensive commodity we have. Kids spend time in front of video games or TV instead of spcializing or reading or studying. The schools have been dumbed down because of "mainstreaming". Most people would be shocked to know, for example, that every single person Senator Joseph McCarthy accused of being a Communist was later found in the archives of the KGB as ***SHOCK*** agents for the Soviet Union. That is just an example. I bet less than 10% of public school kids could tell you that there are 4 times as many polar bears today than in the 70s, that temperatures have actually fallen over the last 10 years or that average temps have risen and fallen through many cycles through the centuries and that man has a miniscule effect despite those in the Global Climate Change religion who chose to put man's power over the environment above God's. E99% of the time when I challenge the false beliefs of a young person, I find ignorance not malevolence. The secular humanists who dominate public education have done a through job of indoctrination. I was talking with my old pastor in NJ and he said it was like we have a "lost generation" because of the false things they have been taught by those seeking to use them for political purposes. And he is a bi-vocational Southern Baptist pastor who is a public school vice principal during the week. You can see the results in the last election where so many voted for "hope" and "Change" with no idea what the candidate they were voting for intended to do. These people are not stupid - the average IQ is actually a little higher, however the ignorance is enormous.
Posted: September 28, 2009