But name-calling is
probably the least troublesome issue. More disconcerting is the use of racial
brinksmanship by either political party as a means of winning elections. And
it's plainly obvious that testing the extremes of irrationality through racial
provocation forms the basis for endeavors like resurrecting the Rev. Wright
issue. They are no more than bald-faced appeals to the electorate's tart
underbelly; that certain voter bloc that some have deluded themselves into
believing numbers only a few -- "racially intolerant" Americans. But
in the spirit of the intolerance most of these types also have for political
correctness, I'll drop the politically-correct speech and simply call them what
they truly are: ignorant racists.
"Simplifying
ideologies"
Granted -- "ignorant"
racists -- it's a verbal overlap; a redundant phrase. And there is ample
research proving its redundancy. A recent study completed by University of
Arkansas (UA) and published in the Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, for example, ties conservative viewpoints to what it termed low-effort thinking , a finding which describes -- again in
politically correct terms -- the kind of people who view the thought process as
a form of unnecessary manual labor. Idiots, maybe?
"Our research
shows that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism; not that
political conservatives use low-effort thinking," explains Scott
Eidelman , a UA assistant professor of psychology in a piece posted
on the website Mediaite.
As part of the method
for reaching this conclusion, Eidelman and other study researchers interviewed
subjects in local bars. "Alcohol intoxication was measured among bar
patrons," writes Eidelman in the study abstract. "As the level of
intoxication increased, so did political conservatism."
But that finding
doesn't necessarily mean you have to be drunk to be ignorant. Some people walk
into the bar that way. A study completed last year by Ontario's Brock
University and published in Psychological Science for
example, indicates that racists by-and-large tend to have low IQs . Quite a surprise, huh? Also
interesting was that study's assessment -- partially summarized by Dr. Brian
Nosek, a University of Virginia Psychologist -- of why some people lean
socially conservative.
"Reality is
complicated and messy," Dr. Nosek told the Huffington Post.
"Ideologies get rid of the messiness and impose a simpler solution. So, it
may not be surprising that people with less cognitive capacity will be
attracted to simplifying ideologies."
Well that's some real
nice science talk there Doc. But it's time to call a spade a spade. And in
Obama's case, calling him a "spade" would be one of the gentler in a
series of abrasive invectives and crude racial innuendo directed at him since
even before day one. Indeed, in its own peculiar way, the ongoing outpouring of
racially-charged language offers a twisted illustration of the pot
(Obama-haters) calling the kettle -- in this case, Obama -- black.
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