The Imminent Threat of Ignorance - (fifteen year old conservative writer!)

THE RANT.US ^ | DECEMBER 19, 2004 | RUDY TAKALA

[CHARLITE]

As the holidays descend upon us, so do the unfortunate encounters with our vacuous relatives.

On Thanksgiving, for instance, my uncle stated that he had "no idea" whether or not we lived in a constitutional republic; and of course he didn't know who Senate minority leader Harry Reid was. However, he did know that taxation was necessary to keep people from getting too rich. Otherwise poor people would become angry and revolt; because after all, as he knew, European nations were overthrown constantly in the past millennium by peasant revolts led by the disenfranchised poor people. When asked to name any, he couldn't; when I threw the suggestion "Fronde" out, he enthusiastically asserted "Yeah!" (The Fronde was, of course, the series of French peasant revolts between 1649 and 1652.)

And of course, the Fronde was actually the result of the Cardinal Mazarin's incompetent financial policies and over-taxation of the peasantry; the nobles led the peasantry against a government they perceived as wasteful and fraudulent. The peasantry did not rebel against the rich and therefore infamous nobility; they rebelled against a scandalous State.

Furthermore, almost all of the European revolts were the result of monarchical states overtaxing the peasantry; and if it wasn't because of over-taxation, it was for religious intolerance. Revolts had little to do with resentment for the rich, and much to do with monarchs who arbitrarily eliminated the freedom of the lower classes.

Ironically, I recently read an article attempting to cast aspersion upon the credentials of young political writers. It stated that because we have none, we shouldn't be writing and thus disrupting the status quo of a society in which we are silent. We aren't "intelligent" enough to be speaking to adults, the article alleged. However, I would defy anyone to demonstrate the difficulty present in transcending people's level of knowledge, or in other words gross ignorance, concerning the American political framework or of history in general. If you located and read an elementary school textbook, you'd most likely be able to find the words "constitutional republic" in big, bold letters in the section defining America's government; if you have further difficulty with the definition of those words, a dictionary could then be utilized in just a few minutes.

However, few people take the time to learn about American government or the American Constitution. One similarity held by people in apparently all times seems to be their disinterest in anything not immediately relevant to their lives. As the people of old Europe didn't care about their form of government so long as it wasn't one oppressive to their individual lives, people today don't know or care about the form of government they live under so long as they perceive no threat imminent in their lifetimes. They will proceed heedlessly along in their attenuation of good government, neither perceiving nor wishing to perceive anything outside of the immediate and tangible benefits to them.

Not many things have changed in recent human history, aside from the style of governance in various nations. However, the socialists of various brands acknowledge not even this; they make no distinction between democracy and monarchy, claiming that inequality is the only despotism and as such will always result in violent upheaval.

Hopefully, this is not the extent of humanity's mental interests or capabilities. If it is, the future will be a perpetually dismal one. It truly is astonishing that so many stable governments exist today. As the holidays proceed, our uninformed relatives will continue to bestow upon us the fascinating gift of a glimpse into the specter that is the human psyche; for a specter it is indeed.

Rudy Takala is 15-years-old and home-schooled. He lives on a Dairy farm in rural Minnesota, and he enjoys writing about current political affairs.

Comments:calvin745@yahoo.com

[gd124]

I don't like it when Maureen Dowd did it, and I don't like it when this kid does it. There's just something so unsavory about bitching about your relatives in print. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[Bonaparte]

No bad for a teen-aged "hayseed." I wonder how many of the big city sophisticates on the NYT's staff could answer even one question about the "Fronde."

[Morgan's Raider]

Oh no! A fifteen year old with a knowledge of history - a leftist's worst nightmare!

[exnavychick]

True enough. But at least this kid makes a cogent argument for his position, unlike the (presumably) college educated Dowd. I can listen to him (even if I didn't agree with him, which I do). If the libs had even as much intelligence and gasp of basic facts as this 15 year old, they might one day have a viable party. As for me, I'm grateful that not all the young people have fallen into the liberal trap.

The joys and benefits of homeschooling-there for all to read. :)

[xcamel]

245 Billion a year spent on ignorance

It's called "Public Education"

[exnavychick]

LOL.

I thought it was publik edukayshion. :)

I tell you, the closer my kids get to school-age, the more I think about homeschooling. I am just afraid I would do my kids a complete disservice. The best part is that I would get to avoid the socialist brainwashing. However, their math and science skills would be seriously lacking, lol.

This kid was obviously taught well.

[miele man]

As I read this, I thought, "this is one bright kid". "He is either near genius or is homeschooled, this certainly isn't the thinking of the usual public school educated child". As I scrolled down the article to the point where I could see the last line, i.e., that Rudy is homeschooled, I thought, "uh huh. Thought so". I also thought Rudy a bit arrogant and uppity and in need of coming down a peg or two. Being out there on the dairy farm has its benefits for his personal eduation, but I suspect this boy needs a bit of leavening along with his homeschooling.

[groanup]

"It leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

If your relatives are hardened, activist liberals who know little about what they do or say, I think they're fair game. I know of what I speak.

[BurrOh]

Hey, thanks for pointing out Rudy. I really enjoyed reading this.

[exnavychick]

I also thought Rudy a bit arrogant and uppity and in need of coming down a peg or two.
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Ah, the hubris of the young, lol. He knows he's smart and isn't shy about showing off, that's for sure. He'll be a lot easier to take when he learns some humility. He's dead on with the facts, but his delivery needs some work, lol. Apparently, no one told him that excellent grammar (and an impressive vocabulary) are not necessarily going to make people like him, even if he's right.

Of course, he could just be like my husband who always says, "Who cares if they like me, so long as they agree with me?" *rolling my eyes*

[xcamel]

Never forget that 99% of what people think of you is none of your business.

[miele man]

I agree with you totally. Seeing Rudy's article reminded me of someone I knew well and who had a similar problem a few years back (cough, cough). Yes, the school of hard knocks is a good thing and Rudy will enter it once he leaves homeschooling.

As for your hubby, my eyes rolled too! LOL

[dr_pat]

This is an appropriate time of year to remember that Dickens in A Christmas Carol had the Ghost of Christmas Future warn Scrooge of his children, "Poverty" and "Ignorance"; and that, "of the two, Ignorance is the most dangerous..."

Whether from a 15-year-old showing off or a seasoned trooper fresh from the electoral battlefields, it's not amiss to point out the ignorance of one's relatives and acquaintances. For a home-schooled farm-kid, visiting relatives may be the most ignorant adults he has encountered.

[exnavychick]

Or that 99% of the time, you don't WANT to know, lol.

[exnavychick]

As for your hubby, my eyes rolled too! LOL
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The really annoying thing is, he's often right! LOL However, in the six years we've been together, he's managed to learn some tact. He-grudgingly, lol-admits that tact has it's merits.

Needless to say, I find it difficult not to gloat when he's shot down, lol. I try, because I love him, warts and all. Same goes for him.