According to new research provided by Pew, a majority of Republicans hold the belief that colleges and universities in the United States have a negative impact on our country. This is a scary way to view the world and is actually a trait associated with fascism. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
Transcript:
New research from Pew shows us just how far the Republican party itself has devolved in the United States.
According to the latest research, 58% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents view colleges and universities, basically higher education in the United States, as bad for this country. 58% of Republicans believe that college is bad. Let that sink in for just a moment. The majority of Republicans in this country think that going and getting a higher education, getting an advanced degree, is somehow bad for this country. Educating yourself, bettering yourself, getting a better job is somehow bad for this country.
The poll didn’t stop there either. According to the same poll by about the same margin, the majority of the Republicans view the media as bad for this country. They also view labor unions as bad for this country.
What’s happening is that Republicans in America have completely bought into the nonsensical, BS propaganda that Republicans have been selling them for decades. “Labor unions are bad because they take away your choice.” “The media is bad because they lie to you.” “Higher education is bad because colleges are filled with those liberal professors who brainwash your kids.” Those are all lies that Republicans have said. Fox News has reported and said everything that I just said, and apparently the Republican base eats it up.
You know, what’s also very interesting … When you look at the 12 tenets of fascism, how to tell when a country is going towards a fascist regime, do you know what some of the things on there are? Attack on intellectuals and academic universities, which is what Republicans clearly are doing. Attack on organized labor, which Republicans are doing. And attacks on the media, which is what Republicans are doing.
This poll is slightly less about Republicans devolving into this anti-intellectualism party, and more about the direction of this country because if we are to believe those 12 tenets of fascism, then we have to understand that that is where we’re headed. It’s not a matter of “We could be,” it’s a matter of “We are.” We already have near complete corporate control over our federal government. Donald Trump has helped solidify that. Trump himself is a businessman who controls the government. Republicans control the House and Senate, all of whom are paid off by corporations. Republicans control the Supreme Court, and the lower federal court system. We are moving towards fascism, and this new Pew research poll shows that. It also tells us the scariest part of it. It’s that Republicans, Republican voters, Republican-leaning voters seem more than happy to be headed in that direction.