Conservatives and universities agree: conservatism and higher education don’t mix

Two articles on Disinformation recently caught my eye. The first was about a recent study that found a link between low intelligence and social conservative ideology, and the second was about a prominent social conservative who believes America would be a better place if fewer people got an education.

Researchers at Brock University found that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes in adulthood. These adults tend to subscribe to socially conservative ideologies, which in turn reinforce prejudice by encouraging hierarchy and resistance to change. If you hold a prejudicial belief, in other words, you’re less likely to be comfortable with that belief being challenged.

Prejudiced conservative Rick Santorum agreed, in a roundabout way, when he suggested that the reason Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college is to brainwash them into becoming liberals. “The indoctrination that occurs at American universities is one of the keys to the left holding and maintaining power in America,” he told a crowd of Florida voters last week.

“As you know,” Santorum added, “62 percent of children who enter college with a faith conviction leave without it.”

Does Rick Santorum truly believe that higher education is a liberal plot to undermine the values and faith of “real” Americans? Or is the GOP candidate simply aware that the fewer ignorant, bigoted conservative voters there are, the smaller his already negligible base will be?

I’m betting the answer is “a little of both, and the only way to stop it is to make sure gay dudes aren’t allowed to marry each other.”

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