Demagogues promote political, scientific ignorance

The Olympian’s editorial of Aug. 17 properly identifies Donald Trump as a demagogue, but I suggest it does not go far enough in considering the possible consequences of his demagoguery. His vicious Trumpisms may be shaping his followers into a truly dangerous minority in American society.

All the vicious haters, passionate gun-worshipers, devoted white-supremacists, ignorant fearers, and the anti-Semites and anti-Latinos will follow The Donald wherever he chooses to lead them, just as Germans of the 1930s followed Der Fuhrer.

He has them believing that his losing the election will prove that the electoral process is somehow rigged; they will not believe that Hillary Clinton is a legitimate president, and many will be even more strongly motivated to assassinate her. Trump may be bringing us to the brink of political anarchy — perhaps the man most responsible for destroying the United States.

On the same page, we are treated to more Trumpish ignorance with James Winterstein’s scientific wisdom. This local soi-disant expert shows how political prejudice and biblical pseudo-morality support another form of demagoguery: trying to convince people to believe in tenth-rate pseudoscience that supports those prejudices instead of sound, objectively done science.

He shows us why the citizens of a democracy must be well-educated so they can identify pseudo-science for what it is. Science describes how the world is constructed and how it operates; people cannot afford today’s widespread ignorance of science when our very existence depends upon sound scientific information — not the garbage Winterstein promotes.

This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Demagogues promote political, scientific ignorance."