A world where not enough of us know how to think

 We live in a world where everything is being dumbed-down because not enough of us know how to think:

1. It is unwise to buy a Kia or Hyundai automobile, because thieves are aware that (due to a very stupid decision by those automakers) some of their models don't have a chip immobilizer in the key and ignition switch, and those models are much easier to steal. Most Kia and Hyundai cars DO have a chip immobilizer (including all the new ones). But the thieves are either lazy or indifferent to that, and they break in anyway and try to steal the car. So, if you buy a Kia or Hyundai, even if it has the chip system, you are at much higher risk of its being broken into (smashed glass and damage to ignition area), even if it can't be driven away. The break-in rate on Kias and Hyundais is stratospheric.

And, insurance companies have hugely boosted the premiums on Kias and Hyundais. So it really doesn't make sense to buy one, no matter how much I might like the Hyundai plug-in hybrid Tucson ;)

So, car customers suffer on account of thieves' inaccurate knowledge.

2. Many Blinds.com customers don't measure their windows correctly, and Blinds.com is tired of getting too many demands for replacement blinds. So Blinds.com automatically deducts 1/2" from whatever width you measure in your window. So you can measure correctly, but the blind you get won't cover the window side to side. On our windows, those 1/4" gaps on the sides are enough to let anyone see in, and to let the sun shine in, too, which defeats the purpose of room-darkening blinds. Blinds.com refused to remake the blind a bit wider, because they are so afraid the blind won't fit. Yes, I could've avoided this issue if I'd been smart enough to ask first how much they deduct from what I measure--then, I could've lied to them about the width and gotten the perfect blind for our window. But should I have to do that? Uh, no.

So all customers suffer because some customers don't have a basic skill--they aren't able to measure a damn window.

3. Conspiracy theories are running amok now. The latest is that Taylor Swift is in league with the Pentagon, to boost the liberals' chances of winning elections. This one doesn't even pass the smell test, as the Pentagon is hardly a liberal-sympathetic organization. I wish this were true, but...

A major earlier conspiracy was that the COVID vaccines hadn't been tested (they had) and were dangerous (they weren't), and they didn't work (they do). Many people didn't take them, and either died as a result or gave COVID to other people, some of whom suffered and died. So there are many Americans who, through willful ignorance, unknowingly killed other Americans.

So, many Americans suffered because of the ignorance and poor decisions of other Americans.

The way to avoid these sorts of problems is to know how to research and how to think. And it would help a lot if the mass media were punished whenever they broadcast knowingly false information, or whenever they know there is a major misperception in the populace but the media don't addresss it by telling the truth.

If America ends, it might be because too many Americans didn't know how to think. I know that I don't always do a good job thinking, but at least I try to learn the truth and I try to make good decisions that account for the rights of others. 

(photo credit: iStock)