{"id":234772,"date":"2017-05-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?p=234772"},"modified":"2021-03-23T10:54:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T14:54:29","slug":"a-civilization-devoid-of-critical-thinking-cannot-defeat-islamic-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2017\/05\/24\/a-civilization-devoid-of-critical-thinking-cannot-defeat-islamic-terrorism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Civilization Devoid of Critical Thinking Cannot Defeat Islamic Terrorism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"RUSH: Back in April, an ISIS supporter attack in Paris, Champs-Elysees, a couple weeks before the French elections — by the way, have you heard what they have done in Paris? I don\u2019t know if this is the mayor or if it\u2019s this new president. Do you know what they did? This is a sign, folks. This is a comforting sign to show you how tough the French are in this fight against terrorism. You know what they\u2019ve done?<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve turned off the lights in the Eiffel Tower at midnight. You know how that is bound to frighten the terrorists? I mean, why didn\u2019t we think of something like this earlier? What a statement. What a show of force. Turning off the lights on the Eiffel Tower at midnight to show solidarity with the victims of terror attacks. This is classic. This is like a hashtag, #bringbackourgirls. It doesn\u2019t do anything. But the people involved think they are really contributing. They think they\u2019re really doing something meaningful. And all it means is that no impediment to future terrorism is handed down.<\/p>\n

We are, in fact, quote after quote after quote today from people in the U.K., from Theresa May to others, “This is the new norm.” They don\u2019t say it that way but their attitudes are clear that they have no ideas, nothing to do here. They\u2019re so afraid of offending Muslims and Islamists.<\/p>\n

I have a question, ladies and gentlemen. If Islam is so peaceful, why is everybody so damn frightened of offending them? And on the other hand, if Christianity is so violent as people like Whoopi Goldberg and others tell us, why is nobody afraid to offend Christians? People laugh at, make fun of, and mock Christians all day long with no fear whatsoever. But you so much as think anything offensive about Islam, and they descend on you and they accuse you of violating political correctness and they beg you to shut up.<\/p>\n

In fact, there\u2019s United States Senator out there today blaming Trump for terrorist recruitment by daring to criticize them. Yeah, Chris somebody. There\u2019s a lot of Chrises in the Senate. Let me find the guy. It\u2019s in the sound bites here. Chris Murphy. This is the CNN Situation Room, audio sound bite number seven. Wolf Blitzer speaking. This guy\u2019s from Connecticut, about the terror attack in Manchester, England. Blitzer says, “Do you believe the attacker deliberately targeted this –” (laughing) Do you believe — deliberate — this is what I mean! Asking a United States Senator if he thinks a radical Islamist terrorist purposely, deliberately targeted — yes! And do you know why?<\/p>\n

Who was the performing artist at this concert? Ariana Grande. What she is? A woman, right? What do you think over half the audience of this show was? Women and girls! And Wolf Blitzer is asking, “Do you think it might have been deliberate?” I even saw a story, you know the Washington Post, folks, I can\u2019t make this up. The Washington Post thinks they\u2019re really on to something here. They think there might be some deep misogyny in terror circles.<\/p>\n

I kid you not! There\u2019s actually a story where the Washington Post has figured out these guys don\u2019t like women<\/a>! And it\u2019s almost as deep a revelation as TIME magazine\u2019s cover story back in the nineties that men and women are born different.<\/p>\n

You know, yesterday — I keep sidetracking or diverting myself, but the synapses here are firing at greater frequency than ever. Yesterday we had the caller who wanted to know how I would confront Millennials and young people and tell them that everything they know is not right, it\u2019s wrong<\/a>. And I went into this big explanation of what I would do, and I had a note right in front of me. During the commercial break I had scripted a note to make sure I included it, and I didn\u2019t mention it.<\/p>\n

\"\"And the reason why it\u2019s nigh on impossible to do is because for two generations we have not taught critical thinking. We have people in this country who, by definition, are highly educated. By that I mean they\u2019ve gone to college and they have degrees. We don\u2019t know what they know, but by our definition they\u2019re highly educated. They haven\u2019t the slightest idea how to critically think. In fact, it might be useful to define critical thinking. Essentially curiosity, a willingness to not blindly accept what looks good, that buttresses what you think.<\/p>\n

Just genuine curiosity, the ability to refute, the ability to think about what you believe so as to be able to refute arguments against you. That\u2019s not taught. I think, by the way, that the lack of critical thinking is a major contributor into so many more millions of Americans buying into conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n

Do you know what the latest big conspiracy theory is in the U.K.? Contrails. Do you know what a contrail is? It\u2019s when a jet\u2019s flying at high altitude and the exhaust from the engine creates what looks like clouds coming out of the back of the engine as the heat from the engine condenses with frozen air that high in the atmosphere, and you get a contrail. There\u2019s a conspiracy that says that these contrails are designed to destroy the planet. Some people think they\u2019re up there fighting climate change with these; others think that these are part of the effort to destroy the planet.<\/p>\n

The ability to fall for something like that requires somebody not being able to think critically. Forget critically. Just think! I think the reason for that is that education has become indoctrination. There\u2019s nothing about education that inspires learning. You know, critical thinking, curiosity is a huge part of it. The more you know, the more you want to know — and the more you hear, the more evidence for it you want to hear and have before you cement your belief system to it. That\u2019s critical thinking.<\/p>\n

Absent critical thinking, you will simply believe anything anybody says, particularly if it\u2019s written down. If it\u2019s written anywhere — if it\u2019s written on the internet, if it\u2019s written in the newspaper, if it\u2019s written in a magazine — there\u2019s a tendency to automatically believe it. And I think that\u2019s what makes it difficult to persuade anybody — not just Millennials, but any number of people — who are not capable of independent thought, critical thinking or what have you. Here\u2019s Chris Murphy answering Wolf Blitzer\u2019s question: “Do you believe the attacker deliberately targeted this concert in Manchester \u2019cause it featured an American perform…?” They\u2019re totally missing this. Here\u2019s the answer.<\/p>\n