How did we get here? The dumbing of America, from Reagan to Trump and beyond

[marmar]

How did we get here? The dumbing of America, from Reagan to Trump and beyond
Every Trump tantrum makes headlines, while the actual president's work is ignored. This is Reagan's legacy

By BRIAN KAREM
Columnist
PUBLISHED AUGUST 31, 2023 9:05AM (EDT)


(Salon) How screwed are we? I'll tell you.

On Wednesday, the news was all about a big bag of wind destroying Florida and flooding the South, spreading destruction and threatening pestilence and death.

Then there's Hurricane Idalia.

....(snip)....

Welcome to politics 2023. One man, who claims to support Christian values, continues his run for the highest office in the land based on revenge and hypocrisy, while our president, a devout Catholic, is insulted by the likes of Ted Cruz, accused of being anti-Catholic and "the face of corruption" in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Biden, in case anyone cares, goes to church every Sunday. Trump never went once in his four years at the White House. Rumor was it would burst into flames if he did.

It would be easy to claim that all of this is new. But that would also be wrong. The seeds of today's political division and reporting began with Ronald Reagan.

....(snip)....

Well, the press itself is different too. Reagan destroyed the FCC's "fairness doctrine" and encouraged media consolidation. Decades later, as social media rose to take the place of the corporate media's diminished role in providing vetted information, the slide accelerated. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/08/31/how-did-we-get-here-the-dumbing-of-america-from-reagan-to-and-beyond/

[Charging Triceratops]

1. It's quite simple, really

Nothing did more to make America stupid than Rush Limbaugh and Fox "news." The Internet crazies are their ignorant, anti-American spawn.

[2naSalit]

3. Yup.

Welcome to DU!

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

7. Welcome to DU...

... and I agree with your observations. Sigh... some of us have noticed this conundrum from day one.

[Charging Triceratops]

9. Thanks

Thanks for the welcome.

[ificandream]

12. Agreed. #FoxIsPoison

Rush started it. Fox took the ball and ran with it. Ignorance is a main part of the American psyche now.

[2naSalit]

2. That's when it became obvious to me.

Reagan's being elected really set me back in almost every way possible at the time.

[Blues Heron]

4. and there was a Bush in the highest office for five of those presidential terms since

VP Poppy 2 terms
Prez Poppy 1 term (loser)
then two terms of Clinton
Then More Bushit w/ Shrub the lesser the moron - two terms

Reagan was pretty much a puppet figure, others were calling the shots.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. how many of u remember when pat robertson sr stated that bar codes were the work

of the devil and the launch of the apollo 11 moon rocket changed the weather and the jonestown massacere with poisoned coolaid?

[RSherman]

6. You hit it on the head. Check out this book.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Profiles-in-Ignorance/Andy-Borowitz/9781668003886

Andy Borowitz: Profiles in Ignorance

[liberalla]

13. Just put a hold on it at my library. Thank you!

[SouthernDem4ever]

8. Great article albeit nothing new

I've been watching this happen for 40 years now. I guess we need an article to remind people with common sense to quit voting for the fascist party, which the Repuglicans used to try and hide but now worship.

[erronis]

10. I'll also vote for the beginning of cable vs. over-the-air.

Cable had no-to-little regulation of content while the radio/tv frequencies were regulated by the FCC and things like the Fairness Doctrine which was abolished in 1987. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_fairness_doctrine

[Jean Genie]

11. Christian values, my arse!

Such a relief that Patty-Pat finally went on to meet his maker. Doesn't change much, though. The assholes still line up to be, well ... assholes. No shortage of 'em!

[usaf-vet]

14. Well, "he never went to church once" was 99.99% correct. But didn't he walk across the street to

....a church to hold a ["his"] bible upside down for the world to see.

And he could not quote one bible verse when repeatedly asked in several live TV interviews.

His lies and ignorance about his religion are bad enough. But, IMHO EVEN worse is the millions of so-called Christians who NEVER CALLED HIM OUT even once.

There are so many reasons why this evil excuse for a human being should never be allowed to hold ANY government office in the future.

THEN there is Amendment 14. Article 3 Ratified 7/9/1868