I think a lot of this problem comes down to a lack of proper history being taught in schools, really.
Lord, tell me about it. Everything I know about history I learned on my own, save for one single college class. (And reading a lot of SF.) I didn't learn jack shit in school, and I doubt I'm the only one.
I think there are two ways people look at the world, which are not in any way mutually exclusive. One is: we are the best and smartest humans who have ever lived. The people who came before us, because they didn't have cell phones/cars/white bread/fashionable clothes/the right kind of religion were dumb. The second is: every year the rest of the world gets worse and worse, and everything's headed for some kind of catastrophic disaster. I think it's the combination of those - I and those I affiliate myself with are the best, and the rest of the world is going to shit - that leads to the attitude that drives me absolutely up the wall with its moral superiority.
no subject
Lord, tell me about it. Everything I know about history I learned on my own, save for one single college class. (And reading a lot of SF.) I didn't learn jack shit in school, and I doubt I'm the only one.
I think there are two ways people look at the world, which are not in any way mutually exclusive. One is: we are the best and smartest humans who have ever lived. The people who came before us, because they didn't have cell phones/cars/white bread/fashionable clothes/the right kind of religion were dumb. The second is: every year the rest of the world gets worse and worse, and everything's headed for some kind of catastrophic disaster. I think it's the combination of those - I and those I affiliate myself with are the best, and the rest of the world is going to shit - that leads to the attitude that drives me absolutely up the wall with its moral superiority.