vlad_hombre
VIP Member
- Feb 7, 2017
- 774
- 196
Well written and on point ....
It’s right there, in the news, in your face, obvious to all but the most obtuse.
Trump spent a decade telling everybody who would listen how easy it was. And he ought to know, right? He’s a billionaire. Billionaires got money. Right? That makes him smarter than the professionals. Sure it does. Just ask him.
Except that simplistic view was wrong – as evidenced by Trump’s own words, even if he doesn’t have the moral courage to admit it.
And being wrong on this scale has consequences.
Trump was stunned by how difficult it was to come up with a better health care plan than Obamacare.
“Nobody knew health care could be this complicated,” he lamented.
Nobody.
But the thing is, the professionals did know. The people with the most experience knew. And they said so, over and over and over again. It was only the ignorant and the foolish and the howling mob who didn’t know. Who didn’t want to know.
Turns out Mexico isn’t going to pay for Trump’s wall, so we’re going to pay for it. Turns out defeating ISIS is going to take a hell of a lot more than the Mother of All Bombs. Turns out the deal with Iran is far better than anybody had any right to expect and Trump isn’t going to negotiate any better deal because there isn’t one – and man, don’t you wish we had that same deal with North Korea? Turns out NATO was a good idea after all. So is the Import-Export Bank. Turns out Moscow isn’t much of a friend. Turns out the FBI isn’t much of one either.
There are real world consequences, terrible consequences, for ignorance on this scale.
There is no position of comparable complexity – or even approaching such complexity as the office of President – anywhere else in America that we would trust to someone so utterly lacking in qualifications as is Donald Trump.
And nothing demonstrates the sheer staggering incompetence of this bumbling oaf than threatening North Korea with a fleet that didn’t even know it was involved.
Good government takes intellect, education, experience, curiosity, and a willingness to surround leadership with expert advice and support.
More than anything, it takes the cultivation of intelligence instead of pandering to the lowest common denominator.
There is no virtue in ignorance.
And amateurs make for a lousy republic.
If you want a better nation, if you want better leaders, you have to be better citizens.
Stonekettle Station: The Hubris of Ignorance
It’s right there, in the news, in your face, obvious to all but the most obtuse.
Trump spent a decade telling everybody who would listen how easy it was. And he ought to know, right? He’s a billionaire. Billionaires got money. Right? That makes him smarter than the professionals. Sure it does. Just ask him.
Except that simplistic view was wrong – as evidenced by Trump’s own words, even if he doesn’t have the moral courage to admit it.
And being wrong on this scale has consequences.
Trump was stunned by how difficult it was to come up with a better health care plan than Obamacare.
“Nobody knew health care could be this complicated,” he lamented.
Nobody.
But the thing is, the professionals did know. The people with the most experience knew. And they said so, over and over and over again. It was only the ignorant and the foolish and the howling mob who didn’t know. Who didn’t want to know.
Turns out Mexico isn’t going to pay for Trump’s wall, so we’re going to pay for it. Turns out defeating ISIS is going to take a hell of a lot more than the Mother of All Bombs. Turns out the deal with Iran is far better than anybody had any right to expect and Trump isn’t going to negotiate any better deal because there isn’t one – and man, don’t you wish we had that same deal with North Korea? Turns out NATO was a good idea after all. So is the Import-Export Bank. Turns out Moscow isn’t much of a friend. Turns out the FBI isn’t much of one either.
There are real world consequences, terrible consequences, for ignorance on this scale.
There is no position of comparable complexity – or even approaching such complexity as the office of President – anywhere else in America that we would trust to someone so utterly lacking in qualifications as is Donald Trump.
And nothing demonstrates the sheer staggering incompetence of this bumbling oaf than threatening North Korea with a fleet that didn’t even know it was involved.
Good government takes intellect, education, experience, curiosity, and a willingness to surround leadership with expert advice and support.
More than anything, it takes the cultivation of intelligence instead of pandering to the lowest common denominator.
There is no virtue in ignorance.
And amateurs make for a lousy republic.
If you want a better nation, if you want better leaders, you have to be better citizens.
Stonekettle Station: The Hubris of Ignorance
