Unteachable Ignorance

I don't usually agree with commie wankers but this part of Jane Smiley's screed is right on the money.

Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you—if you don't believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible is tremendously contradictory, and so you must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it.

Next, they tell you that you are the best of a bad lot (humans, that is) and that as bad as you are, if you stick with them, you are among the chosen. This is flattering and reassuring, and also encourages you to imagine the terrible fates of those you envy and resent.

The rest of it is barking moonbat leftist hatred.

Not all conservatives are this closed-minded. But having a discussion with an evangelical Christian that thinks like this is just as difficult as having a discussion with a Democrat. Evolution is to the evangelical as abortion is to the liberal. One insists that God created the world and the other insists that socialism works. Neither will listen to factual arguments that contradict their worldview.