I'm not sure if those dudes were geniuses or prophets. Either way, they've never been more righter.
I'm not sure if those dudes were geniuses or prophets. Either way, they've never been more righter.
I took the required Government class in high school back in 1978. I still remember the teacher explaining that the reason behind the electoral college was that the government did not trust the intelligence of the general population to elect the president, so the "educated" electoral college was a way to insure that the proper candidate became president. He explained that it was an outdated notion that should be scrapped because Americans are now "smart enough" to democratically vote for the president.
I wonder if students are still being lied to, having no idea of the real reason behind the electoral college. It would be a lot easier to scream for the abolishment of the electoral college if you don't know WHY it truly exists in the first place. Too many people BLINDLY believe what they are taught, or what they read, or what they hear.
I'm more concerned about the lies they told in science class.
First grade. For the Bush v. Clinton race.
Man, I feel old.
We were taught in HS that the real purpose of the Electoral College was to prevent states with relatively massive populations from having all the deciding weight in the election; the College supposedly allows the low-population flyover states to have a proportionate impact on the election.
As far as the matter of whether or not Americans are smart enough, some political theorists have argued for an "epistocracy" which basically means you have to take basic tests before you can vote. The idea is not to give the smartest citizen "more" votes, but to raise the voting bar above the LEAST-informed members of society. Professor at Georgetown U + political philosopher Jason Brennan wrote an interesting article on the matter, it's a short read for anyone who may be interested. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/against-democracy-17605?nopaging=1 He did write a whole book on the matter too, but I haven't got around to reading that, just the article
I would agree with no dispute.
I was....college?
Yep.
Geez you people are old. I was memorizing multiplication tables...
Geez you people are old. I was memorizing multiplication tables...
Geez you people are old. I was memorizing multiplication tables...
I remember doing a "silent vote" in 1st grade. No idea how this was appropriate for 1st graders... anyway.
Our teacher had everyone put their heads down, and described the two candidates: George HW Bush and Bill Clinton.
She described Clinton as a guy that would close down our schools and make people sad. She described Bush as a hero, someone that would make people in schools happy.
Such a weird thing to do.
90/91, Dukakis was 88.Wait! What? You were in first grade in '86/'87?
Got out of the Army after 2 tours, married 5 years with 2 children.
90/91, Dukakis was 88.
Pffft. Hold my beer and watch this. I watched Kennedy's funeral on TV...live...
I would say they didn't lie to us so much as they were not terribly competent on relaying pertinent information. Of course we were all so obsessed with the space race and impending nuclear Armageddon that we couldn't really have given a hoot about the EC. I think it was prescient of the founders to develop it.
I remember doing a "silent vote" in 1st grade. No idea how this was appropriate for 1st graders... anyway.
Our teacher had everyone put their heads down, and described the two candidates: George HW Bush and Bill Clinton.
She described Clinton as a guy that would close down our schools and make people sad. She described Bush as a hero, someone that would make people in schools happy.
Such a weird thing to do.
My middle school science teacher showed a video explaining why the moon landing was a hoax. It was influential at the time.
First grade. For the Bush v. Clinton race.
Man, I feel old.
I was....college?
Yep.
Senior in college and got married the month after the election. Yeah....old.