It seems to me that everybody is doing a great job fighting ignorance here. Together, we (and I only include myself as a marginal, insignificant presence in that “we” pronoun) have created an online outpost of intelligentsia, a haven where intellectual discourse and witty repartee rule.
The arguments in Great Debates proceed with an astonishing civility. The General Questions forum is probably referenced in more term papers than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Good taste is displayed in amazing abundance in IMHO, and MPSIMS is the very essence of courteous surreal bizarreness. And the Pit… well, let’s just say that the trolls run scared at the very mention of the mere initials SDMB. The comments forums, the columns themselves, support this magnificent kingdom of the learned, the wise, and the willing to learn.
But that leaves us with precious little ignorance to fight here on the boards. It’s kind of like preaching to the choir. So, now that we have secured our borders, I believe it’s time to take the fight to the enemy. It’s time to go forth and wipe out ignorance wherever we can find it. It’s time to help all those poor deluded souls out there still steeped in ignorance.
I propose that we band together, and go out to undermine the sources of the very ignorance that has plagued mankind for untold units of time. Small groups of well-trained Dopers, specifically chosen for missions into hostile territory, armed with charm, conversational skills, and the facts.
For the first target, I propose the fortress of that bastion of irreconcilable ignorance, Jack Chick. Not the most imposing of targets, perhaps, but a good training mission for the troops.
We’d need volunteers, suggested targets, and the support of the Teeming Millions. Who’s with me?
MrVisible imagines the huge door to the Straight Dope swinging open, and the Think Tanks rolling out in vast numbers…