Attitude & Opinion
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Marilynne Robinson, whom I've quoted before, hits the nail on the head in her observations even if I disagree with her politics (she is a classical liberal).
Here's what she says on pge. 262 in The Death Of Adam
The present dominance of aspersion and ridicule in American public life is a reflex of the fact that we are assumed to want, and in many cases perhaps do want, attitude much more than information.
I suppose each one of us could, upon an instant, call to mind four or five people whose entire demeanor and conversation correspond to Robinson's insight. I suppose, with some reflection, we might see ourselves there more than we ought.
There is more to it than simple ignorance. If it were only ignorance I suppose, with suitable public relations and the inevitable pressures of making a living, the situation would, in a sense, be self-correcting. Would that it was that simple but it is not. If this is ignorance, it is willful ignorance and to my knowledge there is no known cure for that disease.
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