Ignorance Will Do Us In For Sure

What passes for public debate in America right now is a joke.

What passes for media coverage in America right now is a joke.

What passes for an economy in America right now is a joke.

The common cause of these wonderful facts is ignorance.

You can't, for example, have a serious public debate when a significant chunk of the debaters think the president is a Communistic Muslim who was born in Africa and hates freedom.

You can't, for example, have serious media coverage when the media is owned by commercial interests which are ignorant of the long term need for real information in order to maintain a country where freedom can flourish.

You can't, for example, have a serious economy when the voting public is completely ignorant of the real state of the economy, completely ignorant of the reasons why the economy is in that state, and completely ignorant of the available alternative approaches to "fixing it."

So let's all wring our hands about "the state of things," let's all sorrowfully hope that we can "learn a lesson" from the shootings in Tucson, let's all lament the rhetoric of violence and treason from the right, let's all hope that civility can prevail, let's all hope that things get better.

I'm pretty sure that all this hoping, hand wringing and lamenting served as the sound track for the downward spiral of many, many civilizations before this one.