I was fortunate to be introduced to a quote by John Stuart Mill (1866) which goes, “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.” It would appear to me that this seams to be true today.
Much like Huxley’s fictional genetically engineered society, nature gives us the same five genetic castes. I reference in descending order the first five letters of the Greek alphabet: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. While upper castes are bred for logical, and critically thinking intellectual means, the lower castes are bred with less intelligence and can be easily lead or better stated mislead.
I was giving some thought that our lives, our destiny, outlooks, etc, must be preprogrammed in the human genome upon conception. Just as we are all branded from birth on the edge of our tongue, so must our progressive outlooks or lack there of, must be dictated from birth and stratification upbringing. I reference the debate of which has more influences on a person, “Nature or Nurture.” I take the perspective that you have to start off with the proper raw material resources to educate, reason, and allow the clarity of mind to come to the correct conclusion. If a person does not have the mental capability to comprehend reason and logic, you may as well have a blob of protoplasm.
Then I questioned if the DNA could then be intelligently rewritten correcting the short comings. In the era of post genomic medicine, our DNA is likely to be spliced and edited so we can all enjoy life’s bliss’s, rendering awesome peak experiences, and the spectrum of attitudes and perspectives that one approaches everyday life.
I also cannot help but reflect upon those of a more simple mind; those who enjoy an enviably sheltered life and an enviably cozy lack of imagination nor task of critical thinking. It must all be a so simplistically sugar coated, pseudo realism.
I am speaking of those who can be programmed so easily in the Pavlovian style behavioral conditioning and eugenics. Those who can be told and accept the suggestions that the price of universal happiness will be the sacrifice of the most hallowed shibboleths of our culture: “love of God”, “motherhood”, “home”, “apple pie”, “family”, “freedom.” Those doing the programming do not need to explain these meanings when using the catch phrase words as reference….they just merely need to mention the words. The simple mind will insert their personal meanings without questioning the statement nor think any deeper than that surface.
I can also understand people wanting to regress to the times when they were the happiest. Many times this means the time of their carefree childhoods where the good guys always won, a life without want because it was supplied by their parents, and after a full day of summer’s play, their biggest complaint that their bedtime was too early with the whining statement of, “But the sun is still out.”
Unfortunately there are no euphoric drugs for the logical and critical thinking mind.
Engineer Of Knowledge's Blog 
March 7, 2012 at 9:17 pm |
EOK- I disagree. I think Conservative, or Liberal tendencies are learned. Maybe passed on from adult figures, or learned through life experiences.
March 8, 2012 at 9:25 pm |
Hello J.O.B.
Glad you stopped by. Yea I too can see your point as you well know I have said often that everyone is a sum of their life’s experiences and this too could fall into those influences.
Have you ever read the book, “Brave New World”? I highly recommend it and it is a very good read. I am approaching my thoughts from the aspects and references of the story line from this book. My 10th grade English teacher had us read this book and it was a topic of discussion one semester. (Again, maybe that was MY exposure aspect growing up that I am getting my viewpoint.)
So was the person, referred to as “Savage,” born in the “Bad Lands” of the desert west by natural birth between two scientists, raised in the deserts of the west, and only then as a young adult exposed to the micro-managed, structured society, that was so foreign to him? He was so much out of his aspects from that he was born and raised in, that he could not adapt and ended up killing himself because he could not handle it. (There, I gave away the ending of the book)
So the question remains, was he so Pre-DNA-Programmed by inheriting the more intellectual genes of his scientist parents, or was it the environment of being raised in the wilderness of the Bad Lands desert that was his demise?
March 9, 2012 at 2:49 pm |
Hello J.O.B,
I’m back. I have been very busy with work and obtaining my 32nd degree in Freemasonry, plus my regular Blue Lodge duties, home & family, etc.
What I am asking is for you to expand on your thoughts of why you feel that the exposure “life’s experiences” “Nurture” plays a more major role in a person’s viewpoints verses the inherited “Nature” aspect.
I want to point out that those whom you get your inherited traits from are those who spend the most time with a person during the most influence developmental years of a child growing up. In this case, one does reinforce the other. So I guess I am saying, “Which came first the chicken or the egg,” type of scenario. Which one has more influence? Are the inflences as unique as the person involved where one will have more of an effect on one person but the other will have the more inflence with another? Could it be that there is no “Broad Brush” application here?
I agree a child’s exposed to abuse, having his mother beaten in front of him, etc. can grow up to do the exact same thing. “Nurture”
I can think of examples of people who adopt a child, and no matter how good and nurturing an environment this child was exposed to, may still show the traits of an ax murdering father they inherited their DNA from. (This is a slight exaggeration but there are examples of inherited mental short comings of bi-polar, chronic depression, no sense of being able to connect in any social aspect even to those raising them, or those who have no capability sense of remorse or guilt, etc.) “Nature”
From this type of aspect I have to believe that there are those who inherit a liberal or conservative comprehensive viewpoint propensity.
March 10, 2012 at 5:07 pm |
OK, I’m going to call a spade a spade. Intelligence, or lack of, has shown to be an inherited trait. Ya, ya, I know there are a few exceptions, but they are VERY few.
Lately it seems those of higher education and/or intelligence are labeled “liberals” and those with less education and/or intelligence want to call themselves “conservatives.”
So, if a higher I.Q. (inherited) makes you a liberal, and a generally lower I.Q. (also inherited) makes you want to call yourself a conservative……seems those political positions are more than likely inherited.
(So why in hell hasn’t it dawned on them that maybe if the “smarter” people think something is better, it just might be better?)*
* Wondering about my bad attitude today? This was a post is answer to something I posted on a “conservative” blog:
“Let’s get something straight. The Constitution is not a fluent/fluid or a living document like you so foolishly believe and promote. That is nothing more than a creation of the far left leaning liberal educators over the past 40 years, to validate their rape of the Constitution. The BS that you can interpret it this way and that way is a bunch of crap. It’s as much a guise as the leftist comedians like Letterman, Leno etc. who use their shows to bash conservatives under the guise of comedy. It’s all subliminal BS. But, why would you care anyway, BO doesn’t recognize the Constitution at all. His interpretation is that it doesn’t exist.”
Besides not having a handle on the English language, they seem totally void of any understanding of the United States’ government. And I think they think “God” wrote the Constitution also. And then they go on to blame “dumb” people on public schools.
Ahhhhhh…….!!!
March 10, 2012 at 5:10 pm |
P.S. My 40th high school reunion has come and gone, so I must have been educated before them “far left leaning liberal educators” took over. Of course I was educated by them liberal types that went to college first.
March 11, 2012 at 2:21 am |
Hello NON,
Damn…my 40th high school reunion is coming up this year. No wonder you and I have so much in common.