The country has a divide between solid red states and solid blue states. The solid red states are: Alaska (46), Montana (10), Idaho (25) , Wyoming (34), North Dakota (28), South Dakota (22), Utah (20), Kansas (27), Oklahoma (42), Tennessee (29), Alabama (39) and South Carolina (43). States leaning red are Texas (33), Nebraska (15), Missouri (19), Arkansas (38), Mississippi (47), Indiana (17), West Virginia (41) and New Hampshire (2). These twenty are reliable Republican states.
The solid blue states are California (44), New Mexico (50), Illinois (14), New York (31), Massachusetts (1), Rhode Island (9), Vermont (4), Connecticut (5), New Jersey (3), Maryland (13), Hawaii (32), and Delaware (18). States leaning blue are Washington (26) and Oregon (37). These fourteen are reliable Democratic states.
The remaining sixteen competitive states are Arizona (48), Colorado (30), Minnesota (7), Iowa (8), Wisconsin (16), Michigan (21), Ohio (36), Pennsylvania (11), Kentucky (24), Virginia (12), North Carolina (23), Georgia (35), Florida (40), Louisiana (45), Nevada (49), and Maine (6) are toss up states according to the Gallup poll.
The numbers in parenthesis are those of the states rank in pre-kindergarten to grade 12 public school education. The total average of the solid red states is 30.42 and of the solid blue states 18.67. This is a remarkable difference in educational performance.
Adjusting those figures by removing from the solid red or blue the states with the highest immigrants in their workforce among the top ten, immigrants having a detrimental effect on educational measurement statistics, the solid red state in this category: Utah (20),and those solid blue New Jersey (3), New York (31), New Mexico (50), California (44),and Maryland (13) then the numbers change substantially. The solid red total would be 31.36; and the solid blue 11.86.
The figures among those states that are solid red compared to solid blue show that the educational achievement in the solid blue states is somewhere between 23% to 45% better than those in the solid red states. Why is that? What does that tell us about a country where the least educated have put into our government the people who run it?
An interesting perspective on the outcome of the 2016 presidential race looking at the states that gave Trump the electoral college victory we see the usual lineup of solid reds and solid blues. Of the competitive states (omitting Maine which split its vote) four states, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota and Virginia went for Clinton and the other eleven Arizona, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana went for Trump. The average educational level of the Clinton vote was 24.5 and the Trump vote 27.9 which seems close. But take out the states among the ten highest immigration in their workforce Nevada, Florida, Arizona and the numbers are starkly different: Clinton’s average is 16.3 while Trump’s is 27.4.
Another way to look at these statistics is to take the ten states with the highest African-American populations and see where they rank educationally. These states are: Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Delaware, Virginia and Tennessee. Their number comes out at 30.4. Two of those are in the blue camp, Maryland and Delaware whose number is 15.5, three are in the red camp, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee with a number of 37, and if the leaning red Mississippi is added in the number is 39.5 almost three times worse than the blue states. The four remaining swing or competitive states Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia would score a number of 28.7. Of those latter the Trump number is 34.3 while Clinton’s is 12.
Unfortunately, we are not speaking of minor differences in the educational levels of those who are voting for Republicans. Does this matter>
In 1780 John Adams put these words in the Massachusetts Constitution: “Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, . . . to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at Cambridge, public schools and grammar schools in the towns; . . . to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments, among the people.” (my emphasis)
Thomas Jefferson well knew this. He wrote to John Adams on August 1, 1816, “Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both.”
Professor Richard Beeman of the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 predicted today’s woes in our society. In doing this he wrote: “There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.” The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.” (my emphasis)
As we see our nation dumbing down and our peoplebecoming more bigoted and less informed what we have taken for granted may soon slip through our fingers.
I don’t think we do a very good job in measuring anything concerning human intelligence, imagination or anything in the “soft” sciences. Let’s just say stupidity is probably evenly distributed along the political perspective, as is arrogance and hubris. People who define themselves as on the left are consistently maligned here as weak, handwringing whiners. So much for dispensing with argument on a fact-based analysis.
What is the difference between the venom spewed by the Waters-led mob and the Trump inspired “Beat’em up” gangs?
NC wants to hold government accountable. Who doesn’t–excepting limousine liberals and weapon system addicts?
Where is the outrage at super increase in national debt in Trump’s recent largesse?
When Reagan became the godfather of deficits–not a word was uttered. As soon as the criticism turns to icons, like Trump, the knee-jerk response “Look at what Hillary did!”
Wait until the average consumer starts paying for Trump’s unilateral declaration of economic war (after all, diplomacy and negotiation are not very sexy) the rush for the rabbit holes will be fierce.
DeToqueville (?) said that Americans may not get the government they want, but they certainly get the government they deserve.
PS after hustling Trump into cancelling military exercises, NK says thanks by improving the nuclear material processing plants. Who thought they would ever lie?
“Beware of of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing for inwardly they are ravening wolves ” MATTHEW 7:15
So Sad . This is …. NOT …. Fiddling in harmony !!!!!!!!
Those who didn’t vote in 2016 handed over massive policy decisions to the dimmest of the bulbs. Watch a Trump rally and tell me those in the crowd are informed/intelligent citizens…jeering at reporters and cheering for protesters to be beat up. You all are gross lot.
” Fiddling in harmony ” … Now …. THAT…. is an Epitaph !
There is a knack to it .
An example: if you limited college admissions to highest IQ, highest SAT, you might miss a Picasso or Gerswhin or a compassionate nurse who worked high school with pediatric cancer patients or a gifted public speaker or gifted jazz musician or ballet dancer or folks with the genius and hard work mentality of gifted athletes . . . .IQ measures only a sliver of human intelligence . . . IQ tests will not discern who will be the next great artist, innovator, business leader, politician, social worker, Margaret Thatcher or Mother Theresa . . .but we want a mix of all these folks in college and in the voting booth . . .
Moral courage, personality, dedication, good humor, theatrical skills, perseverance, selflessness, mechanical skills, skills with ones’ hands, ranching, farming, environmental-outdoor skills like camping, hiking, wilderness survival, and fiddling in harmony, working smoothly with others, abilities to cooperate, organize and work with others. . .skills valued, not ascertained by IQ Tests alone
There are more educated people throughout America than ever before . . .more with HS, college, etc.,
Someone said there are more PH.D.s in Middle America, between the Rockies and Sierras, than there are on both coasts.
HERE COME THE CAPS:
AMERICA IS NOT DUMBING DOWN; AMERICA IS SMARTENING UP. (as some already have said.)
Bill: SAT and ACT are the primary determiners of acceptance to college/university. The GRE is what you need for grad school. One’s score on the LSAT pretty much determines what law school a person attends. The tests continue to be very important for admission to higher learning. I’d like to see a comparison of Cohen’s, and, Comey’s, test scores. The NY Bar exams, too!
FORGET JIM CROW … SO LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY : THE MATT CONNOLLY LITERACY TEST !!!
ROOTS !!!
Bill , Gonna go CAPS LOCK on any of this ???
MATT IS CALLING FOR A VOTERS’ TEST
OH, THE HUMANITY !!!
Is this your Voters’ Test ?
The hallmark of any educated person to me is that they intuitively understand that the majority of people are, in their own myriad, cunning and surviving ways … Very smart.
Ask the smug dummies they outwitted in putting their smart guy into the White House !
“What does that tell us about a country where the least educated have put into our government the people who run it?”
It appears that almost half of the states are below average or less than the median value.
Right on, Brian.
2. Let’s not get locked into thinking IQ test results = Intelligence, or rather the full panoply of intelligence. As a lifelong amateur musician, JAZZ, demonstrates supreme intelligence as do Art Tatum on the piano, Nina Simone on vocals, the Supremes and Pointer Sisters in chorus. As for theater arts, dance, acting . .
As for sheer intellectual-moral intelligence and power just think of Thomas Sowell and Martin Luther King, Jr.
As for what made America Great, think of the African-American sharp-shooters who slew British Generals during the Revolution, of the hundreds of thousands of African-Americans who fought in all our wars, of the most highly decorated unit in WWI, the all black Harlem Hellfighters, and of the Tuskegee Airmen who helped win the war in Europe by protecting the bombers . . .with that theater quickly won, more resources could be dedicated to Japan and the East. One bomber from Boston, Doc Tynan, said he knew the war in Europe was won as soon as the p-52s flown mostly by the all-African Tuskegee Airmen showed up.
And if moral courage and skilled with an airplane and musical genius is not enough to convince you of intelligence, how about athletic skills?
So, no more, please, about IQ tests. If we judged college, admissions and job placements solely on IQ tests, Harvard’s administration and student body would be over 50% Asian and Asian-American.
Speaking of Harvard and Hubris, it was Bill Buckley who said he would rather be ruled by the first 100 names in the Boston Telephone Directory than the entire faculty of Harvard.
3. Just like Ivied Tower Folks can lose objectivity so can corporate big wigs and bureaucrats at the higher levels, including judges and prosecutors, who live in their own ivied tower we call a courtroom.
line folks, District Court judges, public defenders, small town lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers, tend not to feel intellectually and morally superior because they live and work in the real world.
Some of the most erudite judges and politicians, of course, maintain their humor and common touch: I’m thinking of Justices Scalia and Ginsburg (bosom buddies) and Justice Joseph Nolan, former of the Mass Supreme Court and former editor of Black’s Law Dictionary.
Politicians who kept the Common Touch, Ed Burke, John J. McCormack, former speaker: both retired to small houses, the former off beacon street in newton, the latter on Columbia Road in Dorchester; Joe Moakley, Bill Bulger, State Sen. Paul White, Steve Lynch, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan . . . even Bill Clinton always seemed sorta a country boy from Arkansas . . .
now as a conservative traditionalist you know whose politics I favor . . .but that’s another story . .
I love this post. And don’t forget the most decorated unit in World War II. Japanese Americans!
That smugness caused a lot of shocked surprise the morning after the 2016 election. Those smart folks don’t seem to have learned a thing. Look for a repeat this fall and in 2020.
What a mishmash of statistics and silly conclusions drawn from them. What they prove is that while Negroes vote consistently their Race interests, as do Latinos, Asians and Jews, White Christians do not excepting where their majority status is threatened. The true divide is the degree of explicit White consciousness.
Your numbers also demonstrate that Negroes cannot attain educational parity with Whites and Asians despite untold billions wasted in an attempt to prove the opposite. Latinos are in between. It is a reflection of an IQ correlation.
Within the states that voted for Hilliary the average White Christian voting Trump had a higher educational level than the opposite voters heavily drawn from minorities. The overall higher educational level of these states is a reflection of their Whiteness. Democrats depend upon those with the lowest educational levels, Negroes and Latinos, in these states for their majorities. Without the explicit Racist voting for Democrats most ‘blue’ states would have voted Republican.
Accepting your numbers is easy. Accepting your analysis is daft. By deleting Race from your model you are able to build a structure for self pleasuring your political ego. Another Own Goal for the pussymarchers. Those OG stats continue skyward.
Adams advocated frugality and good humor. Higher taxes and more government which the Democrats advocate don’t sound very frugal with our 4 trillion dollar Federal government budget. One would need a microscope to find any good humor in the media or the anti Trump politicians. It was comical to hear the press describe Trump voters as angry White males. The happiest people in the country are Church goers and they were the foundation of Trump’s victory. The bitterness and anger reside in the losing party. 2. He also praised honesty. The Clintons always embraced that principle. Great job by the Democrats nominating the Bonnie and Clyde of politics.
Here’s Thomas Sowell’s quote (from his twitter page):
“It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance.”
10:50 AM – 3 Aug 2017
A commentator denounced as “vainglorious” those who feign or are convinced of their own “moral superiority and intellectual superiority.”
A little more humility and respect for others’ opinions . . .for others’ votes!
The most bigoted folks in America are found among liberals.
Many liberals are blinded by their hatred for Trump and/or traditional values.
How does it feel, to self identify as Northeast Liberal or a “liberal Democrat” and to feel intellectually and morally superior to your fellow human beings, especially those “Down South.”?
Liberals not only think they are intellectually superior, they think they are morally superior. It’s sad. I never saw one win a debate with Bill Buckley, for example, although I always enjoyed the debates, especially when Hitchens was there.
Thomas Sowell has a wonderful quote about the invincible ignorance of such “morally superior/intellectually superior” liberals (not all liberals, but the hate-Trump mantra mouthing mania-motivated gang of sore losers who can’t accept the fact that Trump won and Hillary lost; that most Americans are conservative, centrist or independent; that the left represents about 20-30% of America, and the hard left, the leftists, about 5% at most) 95% of Americans don’t agree with the leftists, about socialism, big government, abortion on demand, anti-religion etc.
2. The four smartest people I grew up with were drop outs . . .three dropped out of high school, one dropped out of college . . .they had wisdom, the common touch, a sense of humor, courage, compassion and a real unique feel for others . . . and they were Independent Minded . . .I don’t know how they voted . . .but it wasn’t Knee-Jerk leftist, party affiliation, mob mentality, nor knee jerk rightist . . .they voted with their minds, hearts and souls . . .as they lived their lives . . .thoughtfully, independently . . .
Some folks vote self-Interest . . .some selflessly . . . .most a combination of the two
What galls me is the hubris of those who think they are BETTER, SMARTER, MORALLY SUPERIOR . . .the men and women I’ve known in life who are high school and college drop outs are just as smart, no I’d say smarter and just as morally upright, no I’d say more morally sound, than most Lawyers, Professors and PhDs I know. I THINK IT COMES FROM LIVING IN THE REAL WORLD VERSUS THE ISOLATION OF THE IVIED TOWERS. Herman Hesse’s novel Narcissus and Goldman(sp) wrestled with these matters.
“Hat’s off to the Salt of the Earth” . . .the Rolling Stones and music in general and fiction in general comes closer to truth of human affairs than science, political science, the law, or liberal magazines like Rolling Stone, Time, or newspapers like NYT or Wash Post which today seem ridden with and riddled by leftist cant.
“Say a prayer for the lonely foot soldier,” many of whom voted for Trump . . .Say a prayer and respect the votes of your fellow Americans
You are neither intellectually superior nor morally superior . . .You, like I, are “just another brick in the wall.”
This brick has just pitched in his two cents . . .
Ain’t you ever heard of the Longshoreman’s Philosopher
What school did Socrates go to, Gershwin, Francis of Assissi, Tesla, Edison, James Murray the founder of the Oxford English Dictionary, self taught . . . Lincoln was self-taught, from Kentucky and Illinois, . . . Ike was from Kansas . . . .
Einstein was working a post office . . .
THE HUBRIS, THE SNOBBERY OF THE NORTHEAST LIBERALS WHO THINK NOT ONLY ARE THEY SMARTER THAN OTHER FOLKS (MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY’VE GOT A DEGREE AFTER THEIR NAMES) BUT MORALLY SUPERIOR TO OTHER FOLKS . . .and I conclude the opposite . . .
“The most bigoted folks in America are found among liberals.”
The most bigoted folks in America are Americans.
Hating Trump does not make one a bigot. Bigotry is hate based on person’s race/sexual orientation/religion, etc. The man deserves every bit of hate he gets.