LINK

In reading the Free Inquiry magazine, it occurred to me that the writers would likely to characterized as part of the “intelligentsia.”  Then, coincidentally, my wife sent me the link above.  It’s hard not to sound arrogant but I do believe that with intelligence comes the capacity to be open to more and different perspectives, i.e., to be more open minded.  Being open minded is, to me, the first step in breaking free of the indoctrination that many/most of us grew up with regarding religion. 

Brad

The link is broken; I mostly agree that the more intellegent one is,the more open minded one is.  Open mindedness is somewhat overrated IMO; other perspectives can be considered, but not accepted just because they’re different.  Prejudice and criticism can be very useful.

Interesting article, thanks for sharing

try this link

http://www.livescience.com/18132-intelligence-social-conservatism-racism.html

Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 26 January 2012

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not much to add though, except that it sure makes sense and fits in with my experiences.
———-
Actually I don’t like how I came off sounding there… it’s worth pointing out the author’s warning:

“Hodson was quick to note that the despite the link found between low intelligence and social conservatism, the researchers aren’t implying that all liberals are brilliant and all conservatives stupid. The research is a study of averages over large groups, he said.

“There are multiple examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals,” Hodson said.
Nosek gave another example to illustrate the dangers of taking the findings too literally.

“We can say definitively men are taller than women on average,” he said. “But you can’t say if you take a random man and you take a random woman that the man is going to be taller. There’s plenty of overlap.”

I certainly agree that there’s no complete correlation between intelligence and social views.  I have a weekly lunch with about seven other guys, some liberal and some conservative, some bright and some not so bright.  Two of the dullest are liberal, one conservative, and two of the brightest are liberal, one conservative.  However, I can’t make any further generalizations because my sample is quite biased since I usually avoid conservative groups and connect easily with liberal ones.

Occam

Also, how does being a political or social moderate factor in to the intelligence question? Some of us are politically and socially liberal while being fiscally conservative in our views, or a combination of the above. There are many conservative pundits out there who consider themselves well read and innately intelligent even if we disagree on most issues, except religion.

Cap’t Jack

Over the years I became a fiscally conservative voter after reading Wm F. Buckley’s words and hearing him lecture on balancing the budget.  When I read the Goldwater agenda, I joined his campaign.  This experience opened my eyes to the horrors found in the Republican Party who trashed him as a Jew rather than as a fiscally responsible candidate. 

I have zero interest in socialism and tried to pick and choose my local politicians based on their respect for the people they want to serve.  What snapped me out of the GOP was the campaign of George W. Bush who ran on a list of prohibitions against women, gays and terminally ill people.  He used Jesus Christ to come up with these prohibitions and I could not get out of the party fast enough.  Ayn Rand gave me a background in self esteem and I used her in raising my kids. 

Being involved in many Internet sites, I do agree that the base of the Conservative voters are often illiterate closing their minds on anything that is not in the New Testament.  But I have also found that many here are closed minded as well.  So go figure. 

I do not want the government to take from the rich and give it to the poor.  But I also do not want to have to be a Christian to be a good Republican.  I probably have cancelled my IO down to zero.

One of the major problems is that MOST people, bright or not, have very surface ideas of which they haven’t dug into and examined the complexities. 

They get both words and concepts mixed up.  For example, political, social, and economic systems apply to all countries, but they are often confused.  We are a democratic republic by political structure.  We have a socialistic (government supplied services, not the old “communistic” meaning) social system, and we have a capitalistic economic system.

As I’ve posted before, these are a few of the services our federal and local governments provide: Military, Police, Fire Services, Local Roads, use, & maintenance, Highways, use, & maintenance, Street Signs & Traffic Control, Street Lights, Schools,  Elementary, High Schools, Universities, Postal Service, Libraries, Judicial Court System,  Patent Protection, Food Safety, Flight Safety, Penal System, Communication Control, Property Laws, Personal Laws, Program Name, Record Keeping, Public Parks, Health Care, Garbage Collection, Sewer System, Drainage System, Vocational Training, Utility Supply and Control, Minimum Wages, Worker Safety, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Humanitarian Assistance, Financial Regulations, Professional Licensing, Vehicle & Driver Licensing, Environmental Protection, Child Protection, Voting Regulation.

If you are against socialism, do you want all of these services to be canceled or privatized? 

If you are a fiscal conservative, are you willing to not have any of these services available to you unless you buy each of them from private companies so you don’t have to pay taxes?

One of the fundamental functions of an ethical, caring society, I believe, is to assure minimum adequate living conditions for all its citizens.  When parasites and predators manage to take funds from the citizenry so it trickles up, they are stealiing those funds.  It’s part of the government’s job to protect the citizenry, and that includes increasing taxes on those who have been draining funds from the citizens, that is, taking from those rich and giving back services to those the predators and parasites have made poor.

Occam

Occam, I am heading to the LP Convention in Nevada in May and to prepare for this, I have been reading a lot of books suggested by Lew Rockwell.  I am in the middle of Rothbard’s biography by Justin Raimondo where a lot of LP agenda is described but little in the way of helping the masses of people who are illequiped to find employment without a ton of socialized programs from the State.  I cannot leave these people out in the street with no food.  In my world of the GOP there is no solution for this problem except to leave them starving and cold.

I will head out and try and contact some libertarians who will take the time to help me.  My husband is the same age as Bovard and met with him and others but refused to take the time to talk to me about this.  He felt my place was in the kitchen or yard barefoot and you know the rest. 

As I wrote above, our new generations are not interested in much beyond Dancing with the Stars and I fear for the future for all of us.

Sandy, I was handed a Libertarian brochure about twelve years ago.  It listed many libertarian ideas.  I went through and responded to each one.  It’s quite long, but you may be interested.  I’ll e-mail it to you.  It may give you something to discuss at the convention.

Occam

Hey occam, any possibility of getting a copy of that brochure as well? My students are getting ready to debate current political issues and are curious about the Liberterian views. Most are familiar with the dominant parties and their viewpoints but are unfamiliar with the Liberterians.

Cap’t jack

Will do.

Occam

I wonder if there is a relationship between intelligence and desire or ability to use research materials.
Saw the latest Bill Mahrer show and he describes it as the republican bubble. This bubble is created by Fox news and the likes of Limbaugh. They create a fictional world (a bubble) where truth and facts are no longer important. If there is no longer desire or ability to check facts then disinformation and misinformation become the truth.

Mahrer had Dana Rohrabacher as guest and it was astounding to hear this “intelligent” man spout the “bubble truth”.  Fortunately Mahrer proceeded to take him apart with actual facts, and finished the show with a summation of the republican bubble syndrome.

Thanks Occam, I appreciate your input again!

Cap’t Jack

Quoting Write4U: 

Mahrer had Dana Rohrabacher as guest and it was astounding to hear this “intelligent” man spout the “bubble truth”. 

I would loved to have seen it because Rohrabacher has been my representative for many years (until the recent redistricting), and I’ve never heard or read anything he spouted that could be called intelligent.  He must have had some Republican think tank hooked up to an earpiece for him to repeat. 

Occam

Occam. - 29 January 2012 04:05 PM

Quoting Write4U: 

Mahrer had Dana Rohrabacher as guest and it was astounding to hear this “intelligent” man spout the “bubble truth”. 

I would loved to have seen it because Rohrabacher has been my representative for many years (until the recent redistricting), and I’ve never heard or read anything he spouted that could be called intelligent.  He must have had some Republican think tank hooked up to an earpiece for him to repeat. 

Occam

Yes that is what Mahrer calls the republican bubble, where they invent fictitious presidents and political facts…..

It is on hbogo.com,  Mahrer’s show Real Time, episode 235.

Occam, I remember a bill that your Rep backed with vigor.  I remember when he was a script writer in Hollywood and all through the years I swear he got dumber and dumber.  I probably have the brochure as I got into working for the LP in 2004 and had a bundle of them.  I want more than their opinions of leaving the responsibility of the state, I want to know what they’re going to do with the homeless and hungry. 

I’m hoping Rothbard will extrapolate further in this book.  I also am on a correspondence friendship with Lew Rockwell.  I’ve heard Ron Paul simply shrug when asked about the homeless and knowing his wife, I would imagine he got into deep do do that evening when he got home.  I realize I have a handicap by being a women and it is my nature to nurture others and this has nothing to do with Jesus H. Christ.  I take in stray animals too.