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election irony
shmokes:
What a ridiculous map. The majority of the red space on that map is almost completely unpopulated.
namzep:
Drew, since you asked so nicely here it is. ;D The size of the dots in the counties indicates the average level of education of the population. Kind of an interesting correlation going on there.
mahuti:
Education shouldn't be the arbiter of intelligence. There's an old saying;
"A college degree is what you need if you lack intelligence, intelligence is what you need if you lack a college degree"
I will agree that there are MANY people that have used their college time to actively pursue and gain some knowledge. However, there are just as many that passed through the gates of my university that should have never been given a diploma. Often times people use their diploma as a way to substantiate their ignorance and closed mindedness, especially when they have none of the scruples required to live without the "degree" line on their resumes.
It's been said, "power corrupts." I think a more accurate statement is "power attracts the easily corruptible." I think a similar sentiment can be applied to education... it attracts those already predisposed to liberal thinking... not necessarily those that are naturally more intelligent.
What we saw in this election has been coming for some time. We saw a divide based on cultural attitude, not necessarily religion, education, or money. Many of the educated think that because they are educated, they know better how to guide their fellow man, and are somehow entitled to it. That's a very arrogant stance, and that's why it was repudiated.
Anyway, I'm one of the "educated" but I think I've learned much more about the important things in life from my very uneducated salt-of-the-earth grandparents and the rest of my relatives that live in the sticks. My degree was in design... really, how profound is that? How many other degrees include some sort of badge that proferrs some extra level of entitlement to "correct" thinking. Maybe the "moral philosophy" degree or a legal or medical degree? Even then, those degrees just show that someone is really good at jumping through hoops. It doesn't show that they are better suited to lead, or to choose who leads.
mr.Curmudgeon:
I don't think it's the degree that matters, rather it's the exposure to other ideas in a climate that promotes critical thinking. That's why a formal education is important. It's not just an "education" but it's "exposure."
If you have a diverse campus, then all the better. Most people will not experience that type of thing otherwise. I think the majority of people coming out of a university experience, with a proper education, are generally going to be more tolerant, more observant, and more apt to gain wisdom from their everyday experiences.
mahuti:
Like living in a christian conservative community, the main point of exposure provided at a university is one-sided. The opinion of the one-side assumes it is the correct side... if you don't agree with that side you are "closed-minded" So perhaps by attending a university, you are opened to liberal thinking, but that is not necessarily "critical thinking" it's just a different way of thinking. Realistically, I don't think there are many campuses that really avail people of a diverse political view. There may be people of different political parties, ethnicities, and races, but that in itself does not promote diversity or clarity of thought processes.
People are all different. I think the other side of the university coin you mention is that people that go to a university will be less open to ideas, assuming that they've already experienced everything required to "be knowledgeful" because of their exposure to the well thought-out ideas and maxims of their professors.
I don't think that an education makes people more open to gaining wisdom from life either, per se. That is something you have to do when life forces itself on you, education or no. And as far as tolerance... that is a concept that only applies to people that tolerate the same thing you do. I've often been exposed to open minded & tolerant people that are absolutely vitriolic when confronted with a different point of view, especially if that view happens to be inspired by religion or condems it (depending on which side of the fence they stand.)
Basically, what i'm saying is... an education does not make an enlightened man. An education requires that people follow a process to it's completion. That in itself does not prove enlightement. I think it's a spurious argument to say that someone is automatically better equipped to make decisions because of what they've been exposed to. I've never been exposed to radiation, cocaine addiction, statistics classes, the european driving experience, hot air ballooning, and I don't think that makes me less able to think critically, or decide what is best for me and my family.
Education absolutely does not equal entitlement. Nor does it infer that someone is better than someone else.