We’re getting less intelligent. Not you. Not me. Us, all of us, collectively.
Some people will read the title of this post and worry. There’s no need.
Let me back up a bit. Have you ever heard someone criticize Canada for being socialist? Sure you have, and the country is not. We’re a capitalist country with some socialist elements. For business, it’s all capitalism. If you build a thing or a company, you can make as much money as possible from it. We’re socialist only when it comes to social networks and sense of responsibility toward vulnerable citizens. (And we’re failing at the socialist part but still doing better than many other countries.)
Shiny Happy Socialist People
The happiest people in the world live in socialist democracies. Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland are the world’s happiest countries. Costa Rica is in the top ten for the first time. That nation doesn’t even have an army. Instead, they invest in education, health care, and social services. The United States continues to fall down the annual list. It ranks 24th. A decade ago it was 11th. What a surprise for a nation with a Department of War.
Too many people are convinced – wrongly – that socialism equals communism. Somehow, it’s also become common to think that socialism is weak. Helping the poor is weak. Giving people a hand up or feeding hungry children is weak. The US administration behaves as if everyone started life with equal opportunities and those who didn’t make it, deserve nothing. I believe in the opposite: Those who have the most have a responsibility to help those who have the least.
Painting With a Communist Brush
Decrying socialism as a threat to capitalism is a common way to contradict Bernie Sanders’ sane and sensible ideas. He’s a Democratic Socialist who wants universal health care (like Canada has) and gets called a communist for it. Someone posts the communist allegation and someone else accepts it as fact. And so on and so on. Next thing you know, someone’s making up bullshit and passing it around.
The election of Zohran Mamdani, another Democratic Socialist, as Mayor of NYC brought out the fear mongers. The day after his election I saw fake stories claiming he would force schools to teach about Islam. MAGA faithful lost their collective minds. (Not much of a loss, really.) When will the Americans (and Canadians, for that matter) get fed up?
To Tell the Truth
I do sometimes fear for the future of genuine knowledge. I watched a brilliant video the other day of Egyptian software engineer Mo Gawdat. In it, he pointed out something we’re experiencing but not talking about.
“When we used to search for something online, the search engine would return thousands of links. Then we could choose which one(s) to read. Now, AI brings us one response. Even if it shares a few possibilities, it tells us ‘this is all you need.’ That’s scary stuff as AI grows in popularity, if people don’t push harder to learn more. And as we get dumber – not you, not me, but all of us – we’ll learn to accept that. The moment we stop questioning, comparing, and challenging answers, we’re no longer using intelligence — we’re outsourcing it. The future isn’t about smarter machines. It’s about smarter users. ~Mo Gawdat.
I’m on a kick about truth lately. Don’t be surprised to see more posts about the search for it in all of life’s clutter. I’m annoyed that it’s so easy to do but so few people care about it. Sometimes I long for pre-Internet days when we didn’t know how everyone else thought. In that instance, I do think ignorance was bliss.
Agreed Lisa. Americans have always been leery of socialized medicine, mostly because they don’t understand how it works. If only our neighbours to the south weren’t so ignorant and fearful of what Bernie Sanders has to say. They’re also not keen on being taxed to pay for it. Meantime, regarding the dumbing down of society, a teacher friend of mine recently mentioned the pre-exam routine she was required to go through for grade 11 students. They now must hand in their phones and roll up their sleeves to ensure they’re not wearing smart watches. Some have even been caught wearing eye glasses able to can scan exam papers. In a local college law program, intstructors have no choice but to hand out zeros to students who’ve obviously used A.I. to write essays. The local Dairy Queen, which went to credit or debit only during the pandemic continues to refuse cash, because the teens they employ apparently don’t know how to make change. Of course not every kid is a dishonest dimwit, but educators and governments need to take a step back and focus on the basics while encouraging independent thinking, before its too late.
Holy smokes, Yvonne. I feel bad for the kids who can’t make change. I’ve encountered a few of them myself and when I’ve tried to help, they’re afraid I’m scamming them! 🙂
Exactly! Someone needs to make noise about this to schoolboards and the Ministry of Education!
Excellent blog, Lisa. As usual, you and I are very much on the same page! Right – write – on!
Don’t tell the Republicans who scream about capitalism the loudest, but the U.S. government under Trump has been buying stakes in company after company. Big ones like Intel, Westinghouse and U.S. Steel. He may say he believes in the free market, but his actions indicate he wants public ownership of private companies.
He has made more than $1 billion since taking office. Yes, Hunter Biden made money off his father’s name. But that’s a joke compared to what’s going on right now.
I agree. Your blogs are the best! Thank you.