The greatest threat the United states faces is our growing level of willful ignorance and anti-intellectualism.  When the majority of those who consider themselves educated in a culture can tell you who won entertainment awards but cannot tell you the names of our representing foreign heads of state are or details about current world affairs such a culture, society or nation will not survive.

This is why our children will not know the United States the nation we remember.  To an extent this has nothing to do with politicians, monied interests or corporations.  It has to do with the dumbing down of society to an ignorant culture valuing entertainment over education and complex thought.  American’s, as a majority are simply lazy and saturate ourselves in misinformation to justify it.

American’s like to project. Too many now blame others for their own failings. Taxes too high? It’s the “illegal’s” fault. Lost your job? It’s those God forsaken minorities. My own father was a projector for a long time. Every problem in his world came down to Muslims, Jews and Blacks. He wasn’t afraid to let us know it. He’s toned down and I don’t know if this is because of social acceptance diminishing for blatant racial rants or if his position has really changed. Regardless, his past behavior is a great example of how unaccountable so many American’s have become for their own failures.

Never mind he lost a job when I was thirteen and NEVER really went back to work until recently. We lived off my moms income as a nurse. He dabbled in real estate, an endeavor that might have lost more money than it ever made. To ask him, the lack of opportunity and pay he faced came down to Muslims and his claim they “can’t be trusted”. I trust every Muslim I’ve ever met. Of course, unlike the conservative fear mongering implies, they are not members of ISIS here to perform covert terrorist operations on the US. They are here to do things like raise families and source cheap textiles from overseas, which may be the most threatening thing they do to America.

I reflect on the 80’s and 90’s. Yep we wore disturbing clothes, Pana D’or Parachute Pants happened to hold a level of awesome unmatched by any 2000 era article of clothing, but we were a nation of high physical standards, “No Fat Chicks” and embraced fitness. Flash forward 2015: American’s justify “Plus Size” as the new normal. Apparently so many men have gotten fat they can’t imagine “No Fat Chicks”. But that doesn’t mean we’ve avoided double standards. Not by a damn mile. American’s make sure it’s understood that while we actually produce less we will tout “hard work” as the reason for success. Never mind that what we are “producing” is phantom bullshit thanks to the “investment” or “ownership” economy. All those “hard workers” watching money compile on computer screens. They must be too sore to get out of bed the next morning.

Meanwhile, as usual the people actually doing work continue to lose money and spending power. We’ve given up on higher standards. We don’t want to offend. Great. Now we are just a bunch of lushes making sure laws can be passed to keep the laziest the wealthiest… “Work Smarter, not harder”? WHAT THE FUCK EVER. How about produce an actual damn result besides money in your personal bank account. We must stop measuring accomplishment by monetary gain because it’s now a piss poor indicator of what a person’s actually accomplished.  Some of the dumbest, laziest people in society are the wealthiest.

I will judge a person by the contents that make up their character, not giving one turd about anyone’s concern that I do it.  So if you’re a fat, lazy, non productive ass wipe just trying to make it through your day to your next beer and eventual paycheck don’t expect to be treated by me as anymore than that. In particular I think of fat hillbillies. American’s embrace these losers because they are “Good ‘ol boys” representative of “America values”. So “American Values” are now…

1. Skoal dripping from a beard.
2. A lack of desire or ability to shave that beard.
3. A shotgun rack in a gas guzzling, “coal rolling” pickup.
4. An obesity fetish.
5. A fat partner so neither feels bad about being fat.
6. Social acceptance of your “plus size” ass.
7. All the sugar than can be crammed into a human body without causing immediate death.
8. A healthy dose of alcoholism to destroy any memory or regret should the denial fade.

Hillbillies aren’t cool.  Thugs aren’t cool.  Fat chicks aren’t cool.  The decision to embrace them because you are one isn’t cool.  It’s embarrassing for a country to denounce health, the environment and intellectualism as pretentious and arrogant while embracing bad lifestyle decisions.  That’s where we are.  Simpler, easier, lazier and dumber… “Don’t tread on me”!  Yep, it’s your right to be a fat, uneducated hick or wannabe gangsta.  Expect to be treated like one.  All in the name of “simple folk”.  Ya, you’re fucking simple alright.  Too simple to understand or even try to comprehend the problem: Fat, lazy people in denial.  Now, get mad and blame Obama, minorities, gays, Benghazi, gland problems or whatever fuels your denial.  But for the sake of Buddha don’t take any personal accountability for your own failures.  Not your fault right?  “Land of the free” and therefore home of the under paid, heavily armed, uneducated, lazy and fat people.  These are the freedoms you choose to embrace over the last 20 years?  And yet we argue over what went wrong.  Apathy rules!

1. “Right to Work” = Right to Fire anyone without consequence.
2. “Pro Life” = Pro birth, let the unwanted baby fend for its future.
3. “Abstinence” = Unwed conservative daughters who are privy to immaculate conception and young conservative males without sex drive who immaculate them.
4. “Freedom of Religion” = Freedom to file a lawsuit when Evangelicals can’t force religious upon anyone they want, anywhere they want.  Also the freedom to judge and discriminate against anyone who is not a proclaimed Christian.
5. “Family Values” = Destroying any family that does not conform to right wing values.  These include interracial families, immigrants and gay parents. Note: “family values” can only be emphasized from a main stream media soapbox when a Republican finalizes his or her third divorce.
6. “Privatization” = Legalized corporate theft from unsuspecting, misguided consumers and endless, legal, tax loopholes.
7. “No Child Left Behind” = Dumb it down… the GOP plan for the future.  Hey, don’t scoff, it’s working …
8. “Charter Schools” = Sunday School 5 days a week.
9. “Smaller Government” = Profuse spending and bedroom supervision.
10. “Trickle Down” = Niagara Up
11. “Constituents” = Largest corporate campaign donors and favorite lobbyists.

I’m sure I’m missing a few if anyone cares to add in the comments.