<p>"There is no correlation between IQ and political affiliation."</p>
<p>hmm....I'm moderate so not that I really care but seems like some strong evidence</p>
<p>Wow. Okay Then.</p>
<p>iwasatypo is a self-righteous idiot who gives many intelligent and respectful liberals a very bad name. Liberals do dominate the academia. But that patently does not lead to the brainless conclusion that liberals therefore must be intelligent and conservatives not or that liberals are smarter than conservatives. Smart liberals become college professors. OK. Smart conservatives go into business to use what they learned to make money in the richest and most entrepreneurial nation in the world, into the armed forces to serve their country and live for something greater than themselves, and into the government to shape our nation and the world. Too bad for conservative college students that intelligent people of their kind are not going to be teaching their classes. They're off running the world.</p>
<p>How can you call iwasatypo a self-righteous idiot when you post this kind of thing?</p>
<p>"Smart liberals become college professors. OK. Smart conservatives go into business to use what they learned to make money in the richest and most entrepreneurial nation in the world, into the armed forces to serve their country and live for something greater than themselves, and into the government to shape our nation and the world. Too bad for conservative college students that intelligent people of their kind are not going to be teaching their classes. They're off running the world."</p>
<p>As hard as it is, I will completely leave alone the issue of the ridiculous idea of American supremacy and conservative people living for something greater then themselves. You all are asking iwasatypo to substantiate the claim, and he has. Nobody is saying that all people who have conservative ideas are stupid. Political opinons certainly depend on more than intelligence or level of education. It is, however, a fact that while there are good conservative universities, the large majority of elite colleges are liberal, in both professors and student body. The more education a person has, the higher their tendency to be liberal.</p>
<p>Come back and we'll have this conversation in a year if you wish.</p>
<p>I still don't see an intelligent response to the actual claims I've made. I've defended my position and explained why it is inappropriate to deride someone's beliefs because they are outside the mainstream, but I only see more inane statements like "iwasatypo is a self-righteous idiot" and "you're closed minded" and "Come back and we'll have this conversation in a year if you wish."</p>
<p>johnjohn and cavalier, it appears that the best that you cand do is resort to name-calling and insulting iwasatypo. Iwasatypo does not merit this type of response - if you disagree, say so and refrain from calling him or his argument stupid, etc.</p>
<p>everybody calm down on the count of 3</p>
<p>Here is a substantive response</p>
<p>You say that conservatism is correlated with stupidity and selfishness. But, as the mantra of any AP Psych class goes even granting your contention, it bears remembering that 'correlation does not prove causation'. In politics it is inevitable that one interest wins and another has to lose at some point. But, one could make a case that say a leftist interest group ( teacher unions) are as selfish as any fiscally conservative interest group to advance their own agendas. That the absence of merit pay and the continuing pattern of tenure in High Schools erodes teaching quality.</p>
<p>You may believe that conservative views are 'laughable and outdated' I would say that your thinking muddles the distinctions between being a Republican and a conservative creating a false dichotomy wherein any change is inherently liberal and any opposition to change is inherently conservative which is not the case. No one would defend racial segregation in this day and age but it is only tangenitally related to the gay marriage issue. Other than the marriage and partnership issues which I understand are real for many people, there is no segregation or second-class citizenship to anywhere on the same level. </p>
<p>How do intelligent people know beyond a shadow of a doubt that an abortion is a termination of cells rather than killing a person in the face of legal decisions to the contrary, to scientific evidence which shows a fetus feels pain or that key organs begin to form at different points in development? Just because you adopt a secular, rational ideology it does not make it the correct one any more than an ideology opposite to yours. The goal should be to make one understand the other -- most of this red and blue state crap is media created. Anyway, that should be the responsibility and goal. </p>
<p>Perhaps signifcant numbers of people disagree with your priorities. What sort of ignorance would you describe as belonging to conservatives? Because that is a general statement. Is it intellectual? behavioral? </p>
<p>Liberals have not always been proven correct to use your flawed framework appeasement of Hitler? dropping the atom bomb? Vietnam? The 1990 recession? Paul Robeson? Henry Wallace? Great Society? </p>
<p>The cowering of the Democratic Party coupled with the inept Republican Party is pretty troubling</p>
<p>There are significant differences between a Republican and a Conservative. And the right has an agenda even if you don't agree with it which is proactive including social security privatization, missile defense and school vouchers. Whether you agree with those positions it is irrelevant to the point that it disproves your operating premise which is that conservatives are opposed to change period.</p>
<p>You, of course, have every right to believe what you do. I just worry that when folks so young are so set in their beliefs it is a very dangerous condition for the country. </p>
<p>Just two cents, and at today's prices that's still about all it's worth
Fred</p>
<p>Libertarians have a higher IQ than both the republicans and the democrats. </p>
<p>I hope iwasatypo, if he is coming to brown, doesn't bring his ridiculous stereotypes with him. They are truly disgusting.</p>
<p>"johnjohn and cavalier, it appears that the best that you cand do is resort to name-calling and insulting iwasatypo. Iwasatypo does not merit this type of response - if you disagree, say so and refrain from calling him or his argument stupid, etc."</p>
<p>I think that kind of attitude warrants no substantive response. He's just a troll looking to **** people off.</p>
<p>Oh yeah regarding that chart that was posted earlier I typed in 'Average IQ Connecticut' in google and got this:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vdare.com/sailer/041114_iq.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.vdare.com/sailer/041114_iq.htm</a></p>
<p>After all, among those who have a college degree (about 30% of this country or so?) Republicans win.</p>
<p>Edit: Now that I read that site more, it might actually be a good read for some of the other people in this topic. Would someone else like to offer more indisputable facts?</p>
<p>iwasatypo-
please read some ayn rand- atlas shrugged or fountainhead- and then try to blast the word 'selfishness' as a bad thing</p>
<p>p.s. libertarians are the 'classical' liberals. New Dealers and welfare-statists stole the term</p>
<p>I've read those books and I did a research paper on Ayn Rand. Fiction is not a very good vehicle for expressing legitimate philosophical ideas. If she had any legitimate philosophical ideas, she would have spent more time writing real papers or got a real job as a university professor instead of writing books for general audiences. Individualism--remaining true to oneself and refusing to conform--is a powerful and important force. However, selfishness--looking out after one's own interests--never is. Ayn Rand presents a false dichotomy by implying that in order not to be selfish, one cannot be an individual at all. The greatest people, nay, all great people, have been individualistic, but not selfish like Rand's despicable characters: Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, JFK, et cetera. I could go on, obviously, but I don't feel that's necessary.</p>
<p>The butcher, baker, nor candlestick maker do not wake at 4am to serve you from the goodness of their hearts.</p>
<p>But perhaps for the goodness of their souls ;P</p>
<p>I merely mentioned rand's novels as an introduction to her thinking. In fact, she has written numerous 'real' philosophy books including "The Virtue of Selfishness" and "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" among others.
How can you separate selfishness and individualism? Selfishness is defined as "concerned chiefly with oneself" and indvidualism is defined as "belief in the primary importance of the individual". So from a personal standpoint, I as an individual act selfishly to further my own personal happiness. </p>
<p>P.S. JFK did not make possible the computer you are typing on, the instantaneous communication lines that allow us to talk, the car you drive, the TV you enjoy, and the AC that cools you down. Maybe you should redefine who great people are.</p>