One of Donald Trump’s favorite attack phrases (he has so many) is to brand someone as “a low-IQ individual.” Have you noticed this too? Up until now, you never heard of politicians going after one another in the manner Trump does. This makes him a pioneer in fascist demagogy, which deserves analysis. The reason Trump calls his opponents “low-IQ individuals” is because it’s bold– and it works.
Donald Trump has been described in the latest Washington political insider account (above) of his White House administration, as having a middle-school intellect at best. But Trump still hurls this “low IQ-individual” epithet around because it sticks to so many of his opponents. For the most part, they are low IQ individuals– and that’s quite an indictment! This tactic takes the pressure off Donald Trump and makes the other person explain themselves for awhile. That’s why Trump still has a measure of popular support, as calling out low-IQ individuals in politics is a popular position.
The one thing everyone agrees on politically at this point is that politics is completely messed up. Whether it’s coming from right-wing reaction. moderates trying to do business-as-usual, or left wing activists; no one is satisfied. So what we get is finger-pointing and attack campaigns all around, because none of these Democrat/Republican political clowns have anything constructive to offer. Everything is a pack of lies and promotional hype– to sell to the zombified masses on Election Day.
Voting blocs have reached a political tipping point in 2018, as discontented workers have started to educate themselves, along with the disenfranchised youth that have come of age. These demographics can no longer be ignored by the elites. Notice that I am not speaking in terms of race, religion, sex or orientation. This is about class & social inequality.
Those who are “proud of their country” to the exclusion of others are reactionaries by definition. That applies to all nations, which are all ruled by corrupt elite powers of self-interest. What the US government and its corporate-military-intelligence complex have done around the world is criminal. If you stand up to salute the stars & stripes, then you are complicit in these war crimes against humanity & the planet. If you buy into the celebrity hype of sports & entertainment, without understanding the monied corruption underneath, then you are politically neutering yourself for the cause of fascism. Don’t be a eunuch, educate yourself.
Start by reading. I’ve read all my life, since I was a kid. Back then it was mostly sports & entertainment– articles & books. That’s what normal kids read. When kids grow up and become healthy adults, they read longer books– without pictures. Education was different when I was a kid. It was better, and our schools were much safer. Back in the 1970’s & 1980’s, students were still required to read books in English class and write book reports. You usually had to pick from a list of classics. We were required to read classic short stories including: “The Power of the Written Word.” “The Lottery,” The Most Dangerous Game,” “To Build a Fire,” and so forth… Education meant absorbing those valuable lessons and applying them in life.
There was a poster that hung on the Winneconne elementary & middle school library wall in the 1970’s that read, “Give me a fish and I’ll eat for a day, teach me how to fish and I’ll eat for a lifetime.” Reading takes you around the world and connects you with all cultures & human knowledge. Great books (fiction & non-fiction) immerse you in a story like no other media. Books take a long time to read, much longer than films run. Books take even longer to write, and the best are a sacrifice to humanity by their authors.
Kids are intimately connected to film, television & music. In this universe of popular culture the closest thing to reading is listening to music. Nothing hits you quicker (or deeper) than a great song, and kids love that feeling! On the other hand, it takes concentration to listen to new music and absorb its meaning. Low-IQ individuals always seem to have a favorite type of music they listen to over & over, to the exclusion of all other genres & musical artists. If you know someone who only likes classic rock… or rap… or country, then you can be sure there won’t be much political tolerance or open-minded thinking in their discourse. Low-IQ individuals are the worst listeners, preferring instead to yell their sentiments at others.
As far as popular music and politics goes, the grunge movement was probably the last gasp of capitalist political energy from America’s youth. Grunge music swept through cultural America in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, relegating classic rockers to the dinosaur bin thereafter, which was progress in itself. Underground bands like Sonic Youth, Jane’s Addiction, the Pixies, and dozens of others began to seep into popular consciousness (MTV’s 120 Minutes). Grunge broke through with Nirvana, in 1991: The Year Punk Broke. It’s heyday was brief and politically limited, but highly influential.
Grunge reflected youth aspirations for a better world and a DIY ethic, but like all popular progressive movements without Marxist political roots, it was consumed by the Democratic party in 1992, as part of its campaign of “Bush must go.” Democrats Bill Clinton/Al Gore abandoned any progressive promises early in their administration, and “Slick Willie” spent most of his eight years fighting off right-wing political attacks which culminated in his being impeached in 1998– the only US President with that distinction. The US-led NATO military operation against Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War from March to June 1999 was the continuation of a criminal foreign policy supported by both official parties, and a precursor to the policies of Bush/Cheney.
The grunge movement was unofficially extinguished with the mysterious death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, the dystopian figurehead of the grunge movement. It was a shock to the kids who believed, similar to the affect the 1980 assassination of John Lennon had on ex-hippies and former radicals. Soon after Clinton/Gore came to the White House, Republican reaction took over politically, personified by Newt Gingrich’s “moral majority.” Only such a rotten two-party system could give legitimacy to this cornball brand of Southern hucksterism, but then again that was the 1990’s and Wall Street was making money so no one complained in the media. This was at the dawn of the Internet being a global phenomenon, so there was still no social media. Napster, a free mp3 sharing app, was the first.
All thorough this period: going to high school, college, then dental school– I still read. It’s very important that you always keep reading because it helps you understand the times. The next time a reactionary zealot comes up to you spouting some mumbo-jumbo; interrupt and ask them to synopsize the last book they’ve read. If you qualify this by excluding the Bible or any other holy text, then you’ve made it even harder. The idea is to hit them back and make them face their own ignorance. There are many reactionaries who haven’t read a single book in 20 years or more. If you read prodigiously, and develop some backbone, then you can handle them easily.
Unfortunately, people don’t read enough, and there are certain factions that are being awfully stubborn on this. That’s a big problem, in that these low-IQ individuals are relying on others to tell them what is true & false. They can only “think” in binary, black-or-white terms– which is dangerous. Reactionary “leaders” can’t figure things out for themselves due to their ignorance, and therefore must be surrounded by “advisors.” The most-valuable advisors (above) for reactionaries are the ones who 1) favor a fascist ideology, and 2) have read a few books. If you have read at least a few books, this can get you access to people who have read many books. Gleaning information from others (and then restricting its flow) is how fascist advisors appear so “smart.”
You see reactionary dolts on social media– everywhere, every day. They can’t write either. Instead they berate and manipulate, while looking for clues. When they get burned, they’ll crawl back under whatever rock they hide themselves for awhile, but they’re always back in full force when their fascist leaders whip them into a frenzy. It’s an ego thing, in that they can’t admit to having a low IQ. Could you? It’s a hard truth to face, and most refuse this challenge. It makes a person look weak. Low-IQ individuals prefer wallowing in stupidity versus submitting to intelligence & rationality. That’s why reactionaries are always pro-religion, anti-science & anti-education. They’re actually the weakest of all, but will never admit it.
Reactionaries always react, they never think. This ideology is a perfect fit for low-IQ individuals, as it gives them a recipe (algorithm), which instructs and guides them in every situation. Reactionaries always favor the hard line. This projects strength. It also projects stupidity, but that’s okay– just as long as you don’t look weak. That’s “political death” by capitalist standards. Hardliners attack all their opponents as “soft,” physically & intellectually. This makes everything easier for them & their low-IQ supporters.
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