What was the Point, Again?

I have been corrupting my car pool conspecific for close to two years now, and he is starting to question the state at long last. Lately, I have been tuning in on the morning commute to Rachel Maddow on Air America, and he is soaking up her revelations about the corruption of the US government and the Bush Crime Family. Today, some news really hit home for him. While Katrina survivors are being put out on the streets, Congress is approving a $7 billion + item of corporate welfare for Big Oil. Big Oil gets to pump on federal lands royalty free!

My carpool conspecific is parsimonious. He has to be, what with three mewling children and a stay at home wife. And energy costs are busting his budget, on both the heating oil and gasoline fronts. He asked me this morning why the news about the oil giveaway was not being shouted from the mountaintops, why people like him didn’t raise holy hell with their elected officials. Finally, he answered his own question, “We’re idiots.”

My car pool conspecific is not an idiot in the dictionary meaning of the word. He has a college degree and is a professional in a challenging technical field. His IQ is certainly well above average. But if it weren’t for me, he would never listen to Air America. He doesn’t read anything but technical stuff, and he doesn’t follow the news at all. He doesn’t read the paper or follow blogs or anything. He is fortunate that he gets his news from me at least, and I have turned him into a doubter from a complacent member of the herd. Nonetheless, he is still as uncurious as ever and extremely vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation. In that sense, he and millions like him are idiots and will always be duped.

This situation is not apt to change any time soon. Like many folks, Carpool Conspecific is out of the house and busy at work most of the day with working hours and commuting taking up more than 50% of his time. When he gets home, he is not yet at “leisure” as he must attend to his offspring’s hygiene, feeding and bedtime requirements. On weekends, he has to attend to all the chores and errands he could not do during the week. When he gets a chance to breathe, he is not likely to want to spend it boning up on current events. He knows he is powerless to do anything about them, so is it not better to be in the dark as much as possible?

I’m not sure that I have done him any favors by disillusioning him about the benevolent state.