I spent yesterday morning (November 6^th) trying to understand the tragic loss of Kamala Harris’ bid for the Presidency. After a few hours and finding no one expressing my real concerns, I decided to write this article instead. The American public elected a convicted felon and rapist, a serial liar, and a self-proclaimed tyrant because a significant portion of the Republican base is undereducated and quite frankly ignorant on matters of public policy. They have no ability to analyze and process data independently on their own. This makes them susceptible to being led politically, a dangerous set of circumstances for the future of American democracy. Sadly, the American public school system has failed them.

Let’s look at some of the central themes of Trump’s campaign. The American economy is in free fall. Bidenomics is a disaster. Inflation is out of control. Such was the message of the Trump campaign in rally after rally. What do the facts tell us? According to the Wall Street Journal and most independent economists, the post-pandemic American economy is the envy of the world. The data tells us that inflation is down significantly, wages for the bottom 80% of the work force are higher, unemployment is low, and Wall Street is on fire reaching new highs almost daily.

When Trump speaks about his plans for the future as they relate to the economy, he focuses on tax reductions for the rich and tariffs to replace the lost tax revenue with enough surplus left over to help reduce government debt. He promises that the tariffs will be paid by foreign countries, and his base seems to believe him. Sadly, they have no sense of the history of tariffs in American history which have been inflationary and have served as a tax on everyday people. Economists estimate Trump’s tariffs, if fully implemented, will cost the typical American household between two and four thousand dollars annually. There will be buyer’s remorse among the Trump base if these policies are implemented.

On the stump, Trump has greatly exaggerated the problem of illegal immigration by lying about the actual numbers. It’s an invasion, he says, when the data tells us that the number of illegals entering the country has declined in the last twelve months. Unfortunately, his base is unable to evaluate the data and come to a clear understanding of the problem. If they could, they would find that the crime rate among illegals is below the rate for the general population, that these migrants do indeed pay taxes, and that the economy needs their labor.

In a similar way, Trump lies about violent crime in America. That rate has also been declining, but his goal is to create fear with lies that proclaim violent crime is exploding in our cities making them unsafe to live. Fear motivates the ignorant to be led, creating a willingness to surrender their independent judgment to a strongman who promises them protection from all the many enemies from within.

He speaks often about his plans to end the nonpartisan civil service system. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 mandated that most positions in the federal government be based on merit and not political patronage—the old spoils system. The Pendleton Act helped reduce corruption in government and the practice of wealthy citizens paying their way into government service in order to further their own self interests. The problem is that many in the Republican base have no knowledge of American history and no interest in learning about it.

Trump has campaigned claiming that climate change is a hoax with the slogan of “drill, baby drill.” He gets away with it because his base doesn’t trust scientific data with its universal consensus that climate change, if not brought under control, represents a dire existential threat to the health of the planet. In the first chapter of Genesis, (1:28) God gave humans the right to be masters of the earth. This passage, driven by belief in the literal truth of scripture, justifies for many in Trump’s base that immediate consumption is far more important than the long-term environmental health of the planet. This same belief in the inerrant truth of scripture coupled with an inability to think critically on their own is a primary cause of the current scourge of Christian nationalism.

Finally, we live in an entertainment crazed society. The focus of life for many is how much can I consume and how can I best entertain myself. Not only do many of these people have no ability to think independently on their own, they have no interest in doing so. Becoming a responsible citizen within a democracy requires work. One must be willing and able to delve beneath the surface of the headlines in the news in order to make responsible decisions regarding government policy.

`Kids today spend less time in school than I did sixty plus years ago. The school year has been shortened, and there are many out of school days baked into the calendar to honor famous Americans. My wife was a professional ski patroller. Martin Luther King Day was a long weekend ski vacation. We would do a much better job honoring that wonderful man with kids in school and attending a one-hour general assembly spelling out his important legacy. Our middle daughter is a second grade teacher and seems to celebrate one of these days once a month.

My wife and I spend considerable time visiting our kids and seven grandkids. Our grandchildren range in age from sixth grade to a senior in college. I watch them in action and know that I spent a lot more time doing homework than they do. Not only did I spend more time learning at home, but there were fewer distractions.  For one thing, there was no such thing as a cell phone when I was growing up. Most learning in life is done on your own. Homework provides an opportunity to acquire skills in that type of learning.

I also know that my teachers were not concerned with my passing a test. Instead, they were mostly concerned with my learning to make critical decisions on my own. The purpose of my training was never to spit back memorized information to pass a test, but rather to use the information I learned to make independent judgments on my own. It’s no wonder I became a progressive Christian.

Twenty-five years ago I was good friends with a county commissioner in our town in the mountains of North Carolina.  During one of our many discussions regarding local politics, he told me evangelical Christians were becoming disenchanted with the public schools because of integration, the teaching of evolution science, and the Supreme Court decisions to ban school prayer in public schools. These Christians began homeschooling their children and sending them to Christian academies because of their belief that public schools were indoctrinating their children with secular values. My commissioner friend pointed out that these Christians, solidly aligned with the Republican party, were working politically to reduce funding for public education in the county.

Sadly, these policy changes supported by evangelicals swept across the nation with funding for public education declining significantly. In addition, teachers are overworked with petty bureaucratic concerns taking more and more of their time. Good teachers are leaving the profession in significant numbers because they are overworked and underpaid. In our entertainment crazed society, the hard, disciplined work of learning is a low priority for many students.

Democratic government cannot survive with a significant segment of the public undereducated and lacking the ability to distinguish conspiracy theory from actual fact. Lacking the ability to think critically on their own, they are likely to follow a tyrant who provides them with a false sense of security and a false set of campaign promises. Christian nationalism can only thrive with the same inability to think critically coming from many of the same people. There is no easy fix for this problem. It will take time, hard work, and lots of money. A healthy democracy and a Christian religion that focuses on the teachings of Jesus suggest to me that it will be well worth the effort to place public education as a top priority of American government.

 

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Dr. Rick Herrick (Ph.D., Tulane University), a former tenured university professor and magazine editor, is the author of six published novels and two works of nonfiction. His latest books are A Christian Foreign Policy, A Man Called Jesus, Jeff’s Journey, A Second Chance. and Moving Beyond Belief.  His musical play, Lighthouse Point, was performed as a fundraiser for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Herrick is currently retired, living in Bluffton, SC. He is married with three children and seven grandchildren. You can find him at https://rickherrickauthor.com.