who will believe urban myths, political lies, advertising blurbs,

There is also such a thing as the stratification of

but pshaw at anything involving facts that lies outside their

stupidity.

immediate experience...

Educated and uneducated people engage in cross-snobbery,

which is often viewed and remembered through broken speakers,

finding ways to ignore and insult each other behind

scratchy recordings, cracked kaleidascopes, and dirty glasses...

their own backs...

Not that "history" itself is much better, because it relies

When you have people who studied "poetry" in college

on the perspicacity of the observer and the honesty of the

who look down on people who think that Neil Peart

reporter and the willingness of the editor and publisher

is one of the greatest poets of all time,

to allow something close to the "truth" to remain

then you have a dichotomy of ignorance.

in the midst of their busy schedule of trying to stay in

Neil knows poetry and he throws in all kinds references

business.

to literature, history and myth in his work.

I don't even wish that the adolts and chilledren that I talk to

Some very educated people have churned out some vapid pop

had any concept of the "truth". They wouldn't know it if they

and pap over the years. Some very uneducatable people

saw it because they have no reference points to compare anything

have succeeded in inventing things that the world now

with.

regards as necessities over the years.

I don't like talking to people who don't have any interest

In the end, it is about working together.

in learning anything.

You can't do that without paying attention.

I also don't like talking to people who think they have learned

Now, I've had people tell me that they can't pay attention

somethings about a particular subject, but with such a narrow

to something that they are not interested in. Then how,

focus that they have no idea how it relates to anything else.

I ask them, do you pay your bills?

Often, people don't even think about what they are saying.

Blank look. Well, that's something I have to do. That doesn't

Fact-checking is something they expect out of other people,

require interest, just attention to detail and time.

like journalists and the income tax accountants.

Well then, I say, think of your ignorance of history as a bill

The very idea that they could shut up until they actually

that is long overdue. It won't get interesting until

have anything to say is so abhorrent that it never occurs to

you understand how it works.

them. You have ignoramuses on the cellaphone in public places

Oh, they say, just 'cause YOU SAY SO? That's just

telling their toddler to be quiet, mommy's on the phone...

YOUR OPINION and it is just an OPINION.

and a few seconds eves-dropping on this talker indicates

More mute people vocalizing, communicating less

that the child probably has something more interesting to say

than a coyote in the night.

because mommy is incapable of talking without sounding like an

idiot.