Comments on: Are Republicans really the “ignorance caucus?”

By: Omnaka

Omnaka — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:58:00 +0000

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By: Arthurlieber07

Arthurlieber07 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:01:00 +0000

Sue, thanks so much. The Mother Jones article is fascination and I just downloaded the book, “The Republican Brain” at http://www.amazon.com/The-Republican-Brain-Science—ebook/dp/B007AKBJ8K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361296699&sr=8-3&keywords=The+Republican+Brain. It’s interesting; progressives certainly have their fears; it would be intriguing to look at the different types of fears that progressives and conservatives have.

By: Sue Evans

Sue Evans — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:40:00 +0000

I don’t know if it is possible to overcome years of fear conditioning. Most of the conservatives I know are white and live in non-diverse regions. Some are family members. They live and work among similar folks and feel uncomfortable around unlike folks. Add to that their media preferences which proclaim that the world is scary, Muslims are trying to take over, brown people will soon outnumber white people in the U.S. (which is true but so what), fewer and fewer young people go to church or even believe in some deity, etc. and you have something difficult to defeat. At least one scientific study even shows a difference between liberal and conservative brains as far as sensitivity to fear. ( http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/brain-difference-democrats-republicans )

By: Arthurlieber07

Arthurlieber07 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:44:00 +0000

I certainly agree with your assertions, Robert. Religion is still a rather taboo subject to deal with in the public arena. But I can’t find better reasons than religion and fear as to why Republicans have such difficulty with reason, logic, and self-awareness.

By: Robert Spence

Robert Spence — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:38:00 +0000

This is a very good article, Mr. Lieber. However, I don’t think the GOP thinking will ever change. The true motives of the Republican party are to protect the interests of the elites. They protect big business at the expense of the workers and the poor. But, they cannot win popular elections based on this platform. Instead, they turn to religion in order to bolster votes. Republicans have become the political party of the hard-nosed Christians, or the “Moral Majority.” The Republican party is able to continue their elite agenda and mask it in Christian beliefs. They know that in the minds of the Evangelicals, the Republicans can do what ever they want as long as they can still preach pro-life or anti-gay marriage come election time.The GOP is truly the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

By: Robert Spence

Robert Spence — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:37:00 +0000

By: Arthurlieber07

Arthurlieber07 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:16:00 +0000

I very much agree with you, Sue.
Fear does seem to make one adverse to change and that’s a big problem
with Republicans. Yet they often try to create a more fearful world.
It’s a tough challenge for progressives to figure out how best to
approach conservatives, but we have to use something other than insults.

By: Sue Evans

Sue Evans — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:11:00 +0000

Great
article, Arthur. I believe that their “thinking” comes from fear. When I
say this I am referring to Republican/conservatives voters, not
necessarily the elected clowns who are merely preying on those fears.
The very definition of conservative (A person
who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes,
typically in politics — Freedictionary.com) includes the aversion to
change. Aversion is pretty close to becoming fear, especially when it’s
being fed by pundits and politicians. I also think that the embracing of
ignorance (denying climate change, denying the science of evolution,
etc.) is a way for them to clearly demarcate the difference between
liberals and themselves. It’s stupid and it’s self-destructive, but
there it is. What do you think?