Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has declared “war” on knowledge and learning, by his statements that he will, if elected President, move to eliminate funding for PBS, National Public Radio, the National Endowment For The Humanities, and the National Endowment For The Arts.
He also would eliminate Amtrak, a transportation system that benefits the “hated” Northeast part of the country, the most educated part of the nation!
All of this together would save a pittance, just a total of $2 billion, a “drop in the bucket”, with a multiple trillion dollar budget annually, while at the same time wishing to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy, even though that has not created new jobs, as conservatives have said would be the result!
So, Romney is promoting “Know Nothingism”, a war on knowledge and learning, attacking the arts, history, public media, and even public access to a decent transportation system in the crowded Northeast corridor.
It is a mean spirited, ideological attack on what Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, Presidents of different parties, did to promote programs and ideas seen as advancing America to more than just serving the elite classes among us!
But education and knowledge and the Northeast corridor are seen as evil, and this shows just how far Mitt Romney has moved to the far Right, that he is willing to eliminate programs that no earlier Republican President, including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, dared to work to end!
The “compassionate” conservatism of George W. Bush and earlier Republican Presidents is gone, and ignorance and narrow mindedness are in!
It’s been very clear to me for the last 5 or 6 years that the republican party encourages and celebrates ignorance in their base. At first I thought I was wrong. As they became more extreme in their rhetoric in the past 5 years, I observed this anti-science, anti-empirical evidence, anti-critical thinking skills, along with disparagement of educated people….especially of universities because “they turn kids into Liberals” was all too often heard.
Describing education as a hindrance rather than asset boggles my mind!
Again.. great post Professor Feinman!