Ignorance Must Be Bliss!

For several years now I have wondered how it is that some seemingly intelligent people come up with ideas that, to me, seem so illogical.  How can they look at the events of the day and interpret them in a completely different manner and come to a conclusion that seems to be the antithesis of the combined evidence.  I have wondered, is it a fundamental difference in the way that they process information?  Do they see things through a prism of life experience that bends the light of reason into some complex and hard to understand formulation that is difficult to interpret?  Is it pride that makes them twist everything into a multifaceted conglomerate of information that can only properly be decoded by those elites with a high degree of education?  Is it just good old fashioned ignorance?

Today I got a glimpse into the mind of two of the worlds most prodigious thinkers.  It was completely by mistake, or maybe by divine providence.  As I was looking through the programming guide trying to decide what channel would best compliment my current viewing of Fox News (I am one of those people that loves to switch back and forth between 2 shows that air simultaneously) I ran across Hardball with Chris Matthews.  Now, I must admit that in the past I have never watched more than about 5 minutes of Mr. Matthews at one time... or maybe in total, and that will probably remain true in the future.  His esteemed guest on this episode was Bill Maher.  You know the man I am talking about, the one that thinks that Jimmy Carter was a great President and displays his intelligence through a college frat-boy-like string of smart-ass quips.  Yeah, like I said, definitely two of the great thinkers of our day!

After making fun of the usual... Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell, Newt Gingrich and of course W, they talked about the "tea baggers" and their radical right ideas.  This time they really proved their point.  Did you know that the tea party folks want to end the popular election of senators in favor of having them elected to their terms not by the people, but by (gasp) the state legislatures?  And furthermore, they think even small states like Delaware and Vermont should continue to have two Senators.  Where did these wing-nut idiots come up with that kind of idea?  How funny is that?  Definitely proof that the extreme right, conservative, homophobic, puritanical, sexually repressed, fundamental Christian, war mongers are completely looney!  Where did they get a radical political idea like that anyway?

Hmmmm. I had to think about that for about 0.21546 seconds before coming up with the answer... and, yes it is extremely crazy and radical.  If our liberal mental-giant friends would turn to Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States (I am sure they carry a well-worn, well-read copy in their pocket at all times) they would read "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, [chosen by the Legislature thereof] for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.  This was to ensure States Rights and protect the States from an overreaching power-hungry Federal Government.  Imagine if someone did something crazy that the majority of the people and the State governments were against (uh, like proposing some weird, socialist, sure-to-fail government healthcare), the Senators would be obligated and instructed to vote according to the wishes of their State.  Sounds like a pretty good idea to me.  Too bad a group of Progressives got Amendment XVII passed to ensure more power to the Federal Government (along with Amendment XVI, the income tax, another great idea!).

Now I know why these people think like they do... they are just ignorant of the founding documents, principles, and people that worked to create this institution.  I also know why Chris Matthews has a viewership about one-fourth or less of that of Glenn Beck... or  Sean Hannity, Brett Baier, Bill O'Reilly, Greta Van Susteren, etc.  I guess I will have to try and remember to tune in again next year... assuming Hardball is still on the air.