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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Here is my problem


I am living in a country with more than its fair share of crazy and stupid people.
A poll in Louisiana last week found that 29% of Republicans believe that Barack Obama was more responsible than George Bush for the poor response to hurricane Katrina.
Polls show that 34% of Republicans believe that President Obama is a Muslim – and 43% believe that he was born in another country.
There is another fascinating article in the Washington Post today about what recent polls say Americans believe.
The post is here – and following are some interesting results from a Public Policy Polling release in April this year.
37% believe that global warming is a hoax.
6% believe that Osama bin Laden is still alive.
21% believe that a UFO crashed at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and the US government covered it up.
28% believe that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian world government, or New World Order.
13% believe that President Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.
4% believe that shape-shifting reptilian people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate our societies.
29% believe that aliens exist.
9% believe the government adds fluoride to our water supply, not for dental health reasons, but for other, more sinister reasons.
 4% believe the moon landing was faked.
15% believe media or the government adds secret mind-controlling technology to television broadcast signals.
5% believe that the exhaust seen in the sky behind airplanes is actually chemicals sprayed by the government for sinister reasons.

I don’t actually believe that the numbers are all real. I am sure that many people gave the answers they did to deliberately skew the poll. 
This is known is Australia as ‘taking the piss’ - and the pollsters seem to have been had. However, taking this into account - some of the numbers are still really scary and make me worry about my fellow travelers in the mid-west. 


6 comments:

  1. I would like to know the percentage of Americans who believe all the things you listed. I have a sneaking suspicion I know at least one of them.

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  2. Personally, I've always found that you can find fascinating poll data on the that front page, bottom left corner of USA today - it's a gold mine.

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  3. Badger
    It seems to me that America is the epicentre of the continual battle between rationality and the churches' irrationality. You and Cate are going to be able to observe the crumbling of an indecisive society.
    Jim

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  4. I'll admit to believing two of those. What can I say...I'm a United States citizen. I don't, however, believe everything I read in the paper or hear on the news.

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  5. esb: I only know our next door neighbors - and I think they are ok - except maybe about the reptile thing.

    TNDW: I did not know about that - I will have a look.

    Jim: There are many sources of irrationality here - the churches are just the tip of the iceberg.

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  6. Heather: I will not even try to guess!

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