Intellectual Dishonesty
Intellectual dishonesty is the advocacy of a position known to be false. An argument which is misused to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence contrary.
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Face it. Both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of using some Intellectual Dishonesty. Liberties with the truth are taken by both sides especially in the gutter world of negative advertising. I've seen ads I think are outrageous distortions being aired by both sides.
That being said American Conservatives have embraced Intellectual Dishonesty with gusto. Elevating it to the point its become a cult like subculture. A subculture that embraces a belief system built around a set of simplistic nostrums. Nostrums that don't remotely reflect the untidy complexities found in the modern world. So conservatives push a range of simplistic policy solutions that don't begin to address the complexities of the problems we're facing.
Simplicity has great appeal for those who are intimidated by the mind-boggling complexities of the modern world. For those reasons simplicity has a powerful appeal for some older Americans who may not want to grapple with complexities outside of their realm of experience. A modern world conservatives are fearful of and and desperately want to exert some control over. And American exceptionalism tells us Americans must be the masters of all the circumstances were find ourselves in.
There is no better example of the Conservative Culture of Intellectual Dishonesty than Republicans' blanket rejection of Climate Science. Conservative Culture is so saturated with Intellectual Dishonesty that Climate Science itself has become the object of conservative ridicule, and scientists are vilified as self-serving and dishonest.
The reason I know this is a hoax... I don't need East Anglia to know it's a hoax all I need to know is who is behind it. The worldwide left. Socialists international.
People who want to control people's lives, have high taxes and big government are behind it. That's all you need to know to know that it's a hoax, that it's made up of, it's a vehicle to achieve something else. That's all I need to know. But I don't stop there. I try to permeate all of this nonsense with logic. ~ Rush Limbaugh
2/18/2014
"Its not about
______ its about control." That's Rush's all purpose explanation for liberals' nefarious goals.
To champion these simplistic nostrums the Right's culture of Intellectual Dishonesty is necessary to dismiss all of the contradictory facts. All inconvenient facts are swept aside and labeled liberal lies. No honest evaluation necessary. What's essential is that Conservatives' simplistic nostrums remain above any serious question.
10 signs of intellectual honesty