Is the "Culture War" Really Just "The Education Gap"?

[Overtures]

I only know like 3 trump supporters in person



they have generally absurd ideas and opinions and are not interested in critical thinking

 

[rj144]

I wonder if scientists were paid $500k a year if more of your colleagues would be republican.

Impossible to say for sure, but I highly doubt it.

 

[HOLA]

I don't believe so. The playing field is emotion, not logic, and it often doesn't matter how absurd the movement's beliefs are. It's a certain psychological type that is attracted to Trumpism. Trump supporters saw Trump recommending to inject bleach, they know it's ridiculous, and they don't care.

Even Carl Sagan's son turned out to be a 9/11 Truther. And his dad was Carl Sagan.

 

[Jack V Savage]

I wonder if scientists were paid $500k a year if more of your colleagues would be republican.

Possibly, but that would just mean people putting their own financial interests (given that the GOP as an institution is almost exclusively devoted to upward redistribution) over the good of the nation.

 

[BForrester]

No that just means colleges are indoctrinating people into liberal ideologies.

Look into the political leanings of surgeons and engineers and fields that don't rely solely on rote memorization.

Where did you go to college and in what field of study is your degree? I'm left-of-center, but my computer science, accounting, and economics professors (I minored in finance) didn't spend too much time on liberal indoctrination.

I've observed that the people who claim colleges are centers of liberal indoctrination either didn't go to college or think every college professor is a hippy who teaches sociology or women's studies.

 

[BForrester]

No. Liberals are not more cultured by virtues of allegedly being more educated. They're simply more gullible and more easily manipulated by hucksters and con-artists.

lol...yeah, because democrats are responsible for electing the outgoing huckster and con artist...

 

[Handsome Bruce]

No. There's tons of dipshits who support your side too.

It's funny how you guys call out people like Ben Shapiro for only engaging with the dummies on the left while simultaneously ignoring people like Thomas Sowell and focusing on the Stephen Crowders of the world.

Unfortunately, a lot of people who lean right politically also ignore brilliant thinkers like Thomas Sowell. Individuals on the right should also be reading thinkers like:

Russel Kirk
Roger Scruton
Richard Weaver
Patrick Deneen (Why Liberalism Failed)
Shelby Steele
Edmund Burke
Gertrude Himmelfarb
Simone Weil

 

[Kandyland]

I only know like 3 trump supporters in person



they have generally absurd ideas and opinions and are not interested in critical thinking

LOL. 70 million people voted for Trump. You only know 3. I'm glad you didn't base that generalization on everyone that is Trump supporter.

 

[Overtures]

LOL. 70 million people voted for Trump. You only know 3. I'm glad you didn't base that generalization on everyone that is Trump supporter.

Fair point but trump supporter doesn’t equal culture war

 

[Hit-N-Run]

Education isn't the only thing but it's a big one. I see this very starkly in my family. Political beliefs are almost completely divided by education. We all grew up in the same place, same type of family values, all went to public schools.... the big difference is some went to college/traveled, and some did not. Almost all my family members that have a higher level of education/traveled are more left leaning. Ones that went from high school to the workforce and have not traveled much are conservative. The difference is pretty stark.

Now don't misinterpret what I'm saying. I'm not saying the people that went to college are better or smarter. Learning a trade requires intelligence and smarts. This is not about intelligence. I think it's more about perspective. People that go to college or travel have a different perspective because of their exposure to different thinking, different concepts, and different people/cultures is greater. I've been lucky enough to go to over 20 countries because of my time in the military and my civilian job. My cousin graduated high school and got a local job as an electrician. He's never been to a different country and hasn't traveled much in the US. He's a tradesmen that works on incredibly complicated electrical systems. A very smart guy. He is a total Trumper, I'm not. It goes like this across many people in my family and my friends. There's only 2-3 instances where that isn't the case.

 

[IGIT]

Dems are hell-bent on bringing anybody and everybody from any poor country south of Texas.

hi Mark Hunts FIST,

i'm unclear what this has to do with the OP, but its an inaccurate statement.

from the far left, Bernie Sanders; "If you open the borders, my God, there's a lot of poverty in this world, and you're going to have people from all over the world. And I don't think that's something that we can do at this point. Can't do it."

and from the Oval Office (soon), President elect Joe Biden; “If you say you can just cross the border, what do you say to all of those people around the world who want the same thing — to come to the United States and make their case — that they have to wait in line. The fact of the matter is ... if you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It’s a crime."

so, you're making up what you are saying. either that, or you're adopting the positions of the fringe left and projecting them onto the Democrats who actually govern - you shouldn't do that.

have a great day Mark Hunts FIST! its off to lunch.

- IGIT

 

[PainIsLIfe]

There as been a lot made of the "culture war" between the left and the right. There has also been a fortune spent trying to explain and predict (often unsuccessfully) how different demographics will interact with our two political parties and, therefore, how various states will vote.

All of this belies the fact that one variable seems to predict a state's culture-- at least electorally-- very accurately. That variable is post high school education.

These are the places that rank highest in percentage of population attaining post-high school degrees:
1. Washington D.C.
2. Massachusetts
3. Maryland
4. Connecticut
5. Virginia
6. New York
7. Vermont
8. New Jersey
9. Colorado
10. New Hampshire
11. Illinois
12. Delaware
13. Washington
14. California
15.Oregon
16. New Mexico
17. Minnesota
18. Pennsylvania
19. Kansas
20. Georgia

I think the pattern is pretty clear: the top 17 states in educational attainment ALL vote reliably Democratic in every single national election.

This is an incredible correlation that cannot merely be a coincidence or an accident. It makes me wonder: is the "culture war" really an overblown idea? Might it more accurately be described simply as "the education gap?"

It also suggests the question: "Does more education make someone more liberal, or are liberals just more likely to seek out more education?"

Let's say we had free college-- like many countries-- would that create a more liberal population? Could that be one of the reasons Republicans are so dead set on fighting it?

Btw, statistics suggest that the more education someone has, the more likely they are to be liberal regardless of what field that education is in. So, while I know a lot of conservatives will be tempted to explain away this trend by blaming the supposed "indoctrination" that happens in women's studies, or anthropology, or the humanities in general, this argument doesn't hold a lot of water; since, degrees in mathematics or the hard sciences are also correlate with more liberal views.

Interesting, but would you not consider the inner city areas of most metropolises to be among the least/worst educated in America? I ask because; as we all know, those places vote pretty solidly blue.

 

[Mark Hunts FIST]

hi Mark Hunts FIST,

i'm unclear what this has to do with the OP, but its an inaccurate statement.

from the far left, Bernie Sanders; "If you open the borders, my God, there's a lot of poverty in this world, and you're going to have people from all over the world. And I don't think that's something that we can do at this point. Can't do it."

and from the Oval Office (soon), President elect Joe Biden; “If you say you can just cross the border, what do you say to all of those people around the world who want the same thing — to come to the United States and make their case — that they have to wait in line. The fact of the matter is ... if you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It’s a crime."

so, you're making up what you are saying. either that, or you're adopting the positions of the fringe left and projecting them onto the Democrats who actually govern - you shouldn't do that.

have a great day Mark Hunts FIST! its off to lunch.

- IGIT

Humor me..What state are you in?

 

[IGIT]

Interesting, but would you not consider the inner city areas of most metropolises to be among the least/worst educated in America? I ask because; as we all know, those places vote pretty solidly blue.

hi PainIsLife,

i think that lucky commented on this in another post.

his observation was that although there were dumb people in his locale (i believe it was the northeast), the dumb-people-per-capita statistic was more alarming in states like Alabama and Mississippi.

- IGIT

 

[Gunny]

Where did you go to college and in what field of study is your degree? I'm left-of-center, but my computer science, accounting, and economics professors (I minored in finance) didn't spend too much time on liberal indoctrination.

I've observed that the people who claim colleges are centers of liberal indoctrination either didn't go to college or think every college professor is a hippy who teaches sociology or women's studies.

Of all my college and grad school professors, probably only 6 or 8 did anything you might call political indoctrination. But you’d better believe, every last one of the 6 or 8 was hard left. I had some professors who seemed conservative personality-wise but they never mentioned politics.

 

[Seano]

lol at this masturbatory nonsense.
Say fellow political party members, could it be that we're all superior because of our rock hard abs, 2 million per year salaries and the fact that we regularly nail 10s unlike those puny starbucks clerks on the opposing side?

 

[IGIT]

Humor me..What state are you in?

heya Mark Hunts FIST,

i'll humor you, my friend, after lunch. i gotta bounce.

i think it would be best to lighten up on the "Democrats yearn for open borders" propaganda, though. its a little silly.

talk to you later.

- IGIT

 

[AWilder]

No. Liberals are not more cultured by virtues of allegedly being more educated. They're simply more gullible and more easily manipulated by hucksters and con-artists.

 

[wonderbread]

Well, if you look at the demographic that is the Trump base? Yes, they for the most part are all lacking intelligence and education. Seriously... look at em... they are all hillbillies, rednecks, religious nuts... you know...morons.

 

[Seano]

I only know like 3 trump supporters in person



they have generally absurd ideas and opinions and are not interested in critical thinking

Sounds made up.