brainOne more reason to fear a country run by conservatives: According to a recent study, kids who score low on I.Q. tests are more likely to grow into adults with racist and/or prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics.

Aha. Makes sense doesn't it? Think about all the times you wondered how and why it is that some people can actually buy into simplistic stereotypes about other people. Or how and why it is that they're so quick to condemn behavior or ideas they don't understand or agree with as immoral? To them, everything is black and white, wrong or right -- and that's that.

Apparently that's because having tunnelvision makes it easier to deal with a world which is in fact a complicated, many-shades-of-gray kind of place. Sort of like blinders on a racehorse.

Of course conservatives are vehemently disputing these findings. But what I really want to know is, what are the rest of us supposed to do with this info?

The results of this study certainly shed light on the relationship between intelligence and prejudice, but ... okay, take the racist guy at the office nobody can stand. Now you know he says the things he does because he's not all that bright to begin with, but does that make dealing with him any more pleasant? Are we supposed to feel sorry for that guy, or take it upon ourselves to try and educate him?

And that's just in the personal sphere. How do we address this on a political level? Can we even try?

I don't know. At the very least, this study does offer some validation, or vindication, for those of us who find ourselves frequently under attack for our own liberal beliefs.

What do you think about the results of this study? Do you think I.Q. level and conservative ideologies are related?

 

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