New Mexico

And offensive. But maybe we can just say the same about every state or jurisdiction that elects Republicans: too many stupid people there.

However, I'm going to pretend you actually want to engage in a thoughtful exchange, so here goes. In the spring of 2001 my husband and I had a brief conversation with a couple of women regarding the recent Presidential election, and one of them said it doesn't ever matter who you vote for, because in the end they always disappoint you. We disagreed with that notion. And felt, after 9/11, that our disagreement was more justified than ever.

I'd actually argue that it's ignorance, not stupidity that leads so many people to vote against their own self interest. And I blame the ultimate source for that ignorance to be mass media, especially TV. It's a rare person who does not own a TV. Even those who record shows and watch them later to skip the commercials are still watching TV. And so much of what passes for news or entertainment is dumbed down to a point that's horrifying to anyone paying attention.

There's a growing trend of people not being able to tell truth from fiction. People who think the Davinci Code is real history. People who think science-fictional things happen. People who believe the moon landing was faked. And so on and so forth. Our educational system through 12th grade almost never encourages kids to think for themselves. College or University sometimes does that, but not as often as it should, especially given that those are often trade schools in disguise. Not that there's anything wrong with trade schools, but no one should be confusing them with a genuine education.

People who cannot distinguish fact from fiction are going to be especially susceptible to the kinds of lies told to them by Republicans and faith leaders, as well as those who are using their fortunes to create phony grass-roots campaigns, such as the Koch brothers. Additionally, because most people know almost no history, a lot of present-day Republicans really do not understand that today's Republican Party is nothing like the one of their father or grandfather. And those who do not know history, as someone far smarter and well educated than I am once said, are condemned to repeat it.