Mental mushiness is the problem

At Why Evolution is True, I found a quote that is dear to my heart:

I suggest that the willingness to believe in fables and superstition makes one more resistant to believing things that are true, especially when those things fall into a category, “science,” that can be perceived as a threat to belief systems based on superstition. [My emphasis.]

I take this a step further (okay, a few steps). I think the reason Americans can't think anymore is because they believe in god. That's it, short and sweet.

If you think fairy tales are real, you can no longer judge anything soberly or clearly. Belief in gods throws a blurry shroud over reality. That is the idea: to separate believers from reality and ensure they show proper fealty to their overlords, the priests and imams and popey guys. It's a racket.

This is why there is such a stunning lack of judgment in America: everyone believes in gods and angels. Jeebus can't turn wine into blood but religion can turn brains into chocolate pudding.

Pudding image: Wikipedia.

Wingnut pledges = mental intransigence

AP:

Republican presidential contenders may be feeling nostalgic for the days when a candidate could focus on just one pledge: the oath of office.

And so they take this oath and that oath -- all crazy, of course. But that's not the point of this post. The reason why rightwingers and religious loons are so authoritarian is that their brains can't update. They cannot take in new information. This is the crucial difference between liberals and rightwingers: our minds can update.

If science reveals something, liberals incorporate the new information into their worldview and act accordingly. Liberals pay attention to the world around them. Authoritarians, on the other hand, rely only on preconceived notions. That's why they like things like the ten commandments and bibles and old hairstyles. They love rules. And they get absolutely crazed when anyone suggests new information that might affect these rules. Heresy!

So it makes perfect sense that people of this stripe think it a good idea to take ideological pledges. They don't need to see the actual situations that these pledges will apply to -- because there's no reality in their equations, only rules. So they take a pledge and, come hell or high water (or, you know, facts), they will not change their stance.

This happens because their brains aren't working properly. Being rational requires that we take the real world into account. They don't. They take pledges.

Your eyes tell the tale

I came across an interesting article on physorg.com this morning. It made me laugh since it confirmed an obvious truth: liberals and conservatives have very different brains.

The article is "Look: What your reaction to someone's eye movements says about your politics". (Click this title to read.) The short version: conservatives have no empathy and don't give a damn about anyone other than themselves. I know: not news. But here's the science to back it up.

It's not a long article. Give it a read and know that you're different (and better).