[kevkrom]

How do human beings get themselves into such a state?

In the beginning of the book Dune, a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother tests Paul Atredies with the "gom jabbar", a test of life and death. When asked afterwards why he was being tested, she responds that she was testing to see if he was a human. Not in the genetic sense, but in the sense that he was a rational, thinking being.

DUmmies, in this sense, aren't "human". More so than the typical leftist, they have not developed any type of rational thinking skills -- they respond solely to stimulus, and latch onto any explanation, no matter how far-fetched, when reality does not square with their perceptions.

[Congressman Billybob]

Your description of Dummies is interesting. It reminds me of the usefulness of flatworms in research. They reproduce easily, they respond to sharp stimuli, and they are at best dimly aware that they are alive.

John / Billybob