General Discussion

The Republican Party, with the enthusiastic help and funding of various domestic corporations and oligarchs, and the occasional assistance of foreign interests who do NOT have America's best interests at heart, began a project over sixty years ago: Dismantling public education.

Without much fanfare, it has been at or near the top of their agenda at every level from Federal to local, on a permanent basis, since the 1960s. Here's what this does for them:

First and foremost, it secures them a dedicated, permanent cadre of both tacitly and explicitly racist voters.

Second and not inconsiderable, it secures them a dedicated, permanent cadre of religious wackadoodle voters.

Third, and very much valued, it allows them to funnel tax dollars away from those who DON'T generally vote Republican and into religious schools, charter schools, voucher programs, etc. that benefit their terrified, hate-driven base, as well as the grifters running shitty ideology-based educational scams.

Fourth, on a smaller but still valuable scale, it allows them to disrupt public school tax funding generally, which often plays to their corporate and oligarch stakeholders by keeping local taxes low, kneecapping mil levies, etc.

Fifth, and deeply appreciated, it provides them with an endless string of culture-war hair-on-fire stupidities to keep their voters terrified.

Finally, a little cherry on top of the whole sundae of benefits to them, it ensures that more young people are getting less effective education, which makes them less likely to grow up into the kind of voters who take an intelligent interest in their own well-being.

Three whole generations of Americans have been raised in those 60 years, and in each generation, an increasing number experienced ever crappier, more crowded, more poorly-funded, less-effective schools.

Critical thinking. Civics classes. Arts education. Individual attention. A sense of safety. A sense of adventure and excitement in learning. Small classes. Highly-trained teachers. Highly-experienced teachers. Every year there are fewer of those things in our public education system, thanks to the GOP's diligence in fucking over public education.

Why are you surprised at the number of voters who think a "bloodbath" will be a good thing? Why are you surprised at the number of voters who enthusiastically dehumanize anyone they are told to?

This is not a new phenomenon, it did not come out of nowhere. It was the plan, all along. And it is reaching fruition.

sadly,
Bright