Charlie Pierce's Three Great Premises of Idiot America

[hifiguy]

1. Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units.

2. Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough.

3. Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.

iMO this simple set of rules explains very nearly everything wrong with the sad mess called the USA. We are, collectively dumb as a box of rocks, partly by choice, partly by manipulation.

Discuss.

[arcane1]

1. I started to reread this book on Monday.

I had forgotten how entertaining his style is

[Maedhros]

2. The predictable result of slashing funding for public education. [n/t]

[Initech]

3. We are legion! We are America! The so called Idiot community will not be silenced!

Frat boys, DJs, loud mouth old bitches, investment bankers, the tramp stamp, Parrot Heads, anti vaccination crusaders, and people who won't shut up about scuba diving.

[Fumesucker]

4. Let's just make that people who won't shut up..

[Initech]

5. I kind of stole that quote from 30 Rock.

[Scuba]

7. Scuba diving? Hey, I resemble that!

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Yeah, But When Is The Last Time You Wouldn't Shut Up About It

I have a friend who's way into it to. He barely ever talks about it. It's a funny line, but i don't have that problem, and apparently neither do your friends.

[Scuba]

11. Most of what I say is boring, so I try to say little.

[GoneFishin]

6. Sadly, I think this occasionally applies to people who pride themselves in being above this

construct, even though they are not.

[treestar]

8. A lot of people are know-it-alls

Control freaks. They want to believe they know it all and have it all under control. Thus, they cannot have open minds; that's too unsettling.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right. Paine

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right. Thomas Paine