# Top Secret American Destupization Project **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 22, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272 "2009-08-22T02:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/41 "2009-08-22T17:04:31Z")
Emphasize or create alternative education routes. When everybody “has” to graduate from high school, even the most stupid and the laziest, what happens is that the bar gets lowered. Create different bars. Vocational tracks (crafts, general office staff), arts tracks, different types of college tracks. For someone who doesn’t have a clear idea of what he wants to do, it’s easier to choose a “pack” than individual subjects; at the same time, people would still be able to focus on what they like and are good at. By making learning less painful, it becomes more interesting. Take the “college requirement” out of professional sports. If a Big Huge Supaimportant Unviersity can’t survive without its football program, it should disappear; after all, it would be like a gizmo-making company that can’t survive without its manager’s ebay doll-selling business, it’s a company that’s not focusing (or getting its income from) where it should. That doesn’t mean “no more sports scholarships,” but if someone doesn’t give a shit about getting a degree, he shouldn’t have to get one. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/42 "2009-08-22T17:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > 40% of them don’t know how many states there are. That’s right, Mr. President - we need to teach them about [all 57.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws) Better think carefully about what you ask for, Mr. President - alienate the stupid people and you lose [the majority of your consituency](http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1642#Anchor-37902). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/43 "2009-08-22T17:12:54Z")
The mis-speak about the 57 states is a stupid thing to reference — it’s at the end of the day, in full campaign mode, and obviously just the verbal equivalent of a typo. It does not compare, for example, to Sarah Palin’s inability to recall a newspaper she has read, or the Bush Doctrine, or a Supreme Court case she didn’t like. Why make such bad arguments for your side, Shodan? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/44 "2009-08-22T17:13:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s right, Mr. President - we need to teach them about [all 57.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws) > > Better think carefully about what you ask for, Mr. President - alienate the stupid people and you lose [the majority of your consituency](http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1642#Anchor-37902). > > Regards, > Shodan Yes, I think everyone in this thread is losing focus of the true goal here. Let’s try to remember: The stupids are not just the people who disagree with us. Most of the people who appear on Maury Povich’s “Shocking paternity test result!” shows or post dumb questions on Yahoo Answers probably don’t even vote, much less read political blogs or hold any passionate partisan convictions. If we get too focused on trying to get rid of the stupids who simply don’t agree with us, then we get stuck fighting amongst ourselves about which side’s stupid people are expendable instead of actually getting to work eliminating stupidity! My proposals were intended to fairly distribute the natural selection process among stupid people of ALL races, religions, political views. Let’s be **fair** in our efforts at social engineering and eugenics! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/45 "2009-08-22T17:14:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 1. Put sterility drugs into the concessions at all NASCAR races. The problem will solve itself in a (missing) generation. > > 2. Prohibit the bundling of cable channels. Make the menu completely ala carte. > > 3. A few selective “accidents.” Who’s going to pick up the garbage, and work at the textile mills? You “smart” people? It is to laugh. Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/46 "2009-08-22T17:19:15Z")
Every four years, timed to half way between each presidential election, everyone in the US gets to choose: 1. You can vote in government polls, ie president, house, senate, school board, prop 37 or whatever. OR 2. You can vote for media related polls, ie American Idol, the next flavor of Mountain Dew, or online polls about whether there is enough Jesus in schools. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/47 "2009-08-22T17:21:33Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > The second idea is basically to let the south succeed like they’ve always wanted to. Maybe hold an amnesty program for a year where any southern resident can sell his home and buy a new one in the north tax-free, and after that, carve out the bible belt. Since most of the stupids are in southern states, and Florida itself has never been that good to our mental health, kicking them out of the playground and letting them run themselves into the ground might do everyone good. Similar to Japan after WW2, we’d have to have some kind of rule where the southern states/country aren’t allowed to own nukes or to have their own army, just to prevent a seemingly inevitable attempt to start a holy war. “Those godless yanks are working for secret muslims! We must kill the infidels, err, martyr them.. with… jesus!” That’s one of the most bigoted bits of drivel I’ve seem posted here. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/48 "2009-08-22T17:28:21Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Who’s going to pick up the garbage, and work at the textile mills? You “smart” people? It is to laugh. Ha! Are you saying that people that pick up garbage or work in textile mills are stupid? ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/49 "2009-08-22T17:45:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If Obama did this, I’d petition to take my vote back. What an arrogant, patronizing idea. Completely un-American, bordering on the totalitarian. Apparently freedom sucks for some people. > [@Oakminster](#): > > I propose some of you tree huggers try to stop me before I get to him, otherwise I’m taking his tyranical ass out. Nothing good ever comes of suspending legal and constitutional protections. Add to this outrage the fact that the sonuvabitch fucking kidnapped me, right before football season. He’s gonna die. Oy. Here I was trying to make a game a little more engaging than, “People are stupid. Fix it,” and a few of you thought that I was presenting some kind of actual morality challenge. Did the taco bar not tip you off? Obviously this is all tyrannical and unconstitutional. That’s kind of the point. It’s a thought exercise of sorts, we’re not planning to annex half the country or sterilize Nascar fans, for cripes sakes. Adjust tinfoil hats, set coordinates for “imaginationland.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/50 "2009-08-22T17:49:14Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Who’s going to pick up the garbage, and work at the textile mills? You “smart” people? It is to laugh. Ha! So, how would _you_ “destupidize” our country? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/51 "2009-08-22T17:50:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s right, Mr. President - we need to teach them about [all 57.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws) > > Better think carefully about what you ask for, Mr. President - alienate the stupid people and you lose [the majority of your consituency](http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1642#Anchor-37902). > > Regards, > Shodan So, how would _you_ “destupidize” our country? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/52 "2009-08-22T17:51:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If Obama did this, I’d petition to take my vote back. What an arrogant, patronizing idea. Completely un-American, bordering on the totalitarian. Apparently freedom sucks for some people. So, how would _you_ “destupidize” our country? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/53 "2009-08-22T18:06:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So, how would _you_ “destupidize” our country? For starters, I’d sterilize people that post the same question to three different posters in consecutive posts. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/54 "2009-08-22T18:12:17Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > For starters, I’d sterilize people that post the same question to three different posters in consecutive posts. Care to address the general idea of the OP, or are potshots all you’ve got? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/55 "2009-08-22T18:15:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Care to address the general idea of the OP, or are potshots all you’ve got? You first. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/56 "2009-08-22T18:39:02Z")
A shot of pot would probably be a good thing right about now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/57 "2009-08-22T18:45:55Z")
You got any cookies? People could eat a lot more fish, which is brain food, but its got mercury, so it kills you. Maybe dead people are smart, but we don’t know, 'cause they’re dead. Or we smart people could breed more, but then you have to raise more kids, which makes you crazy, so I don’t know if that would help. Got any cookies?.. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/58 "2009-08-22T18:59:05Z")
Keep in mind that the content of this post is admittedly quite awful. A strict darwinist would say that programs to help the disabled and mentally handicapped are watering down our species. If only the people who can get through life unassisted are allowed to reproduce, future generations would be much stronger. By allowing the disabled to live full lives, including the possibility of reproducing, whatever genetic predisposition allowed them to become disabled is passed on as well. I’m not saying that must be remedied. In fact, I think the last person to do so was a failed painter named Adolph something. It is worth considering, anyway, that when we developed a sense of compassion, evolution stopped. A philosophical debate about whether that’s an acceptable outcome would be interesting to watch, though it would need an extraordinary amount of disclaimers as I’m sure everybody involved would be offended in some way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/59 "2009-08-22T19:47:52Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > Keep in mind that the content of this post is admittedly quite awful. > > A strict darwinist would say that programs to help the disabled and mentally handicapped are watering down our species. If only the people who can get through life unassisted are allowed to reproduce, future generations would be much stronger. By allowing the disabled to live full lives, including the possibility of reproducing, whatever genetic predisposition allowed them to become disabled is passed on as well. > > I’m not saying that must be remedied. In fact, I think the last person to do so was a failed painter named Adolph something. > > It is worth considering, anyway, that when we developed a sense of compassion, evolution stopped. A philosophical debate about whether that’s an acceptable outcome would be interesting to watch, though it would need an extraordinary amount of disclaimers as I’m sure everybody involved would be offended in some way. Empathy didn’t stop evolution. Empathy exists because populations with it usually do better then populations without it. Would you want to go into the forest alone, or with a friend who has your back? That you both have empathy genes is why you can trust your friend to not to kill you for your pocket watch when it’s convenient. Such populations lacking it would be highly dysfunctional. Example: the Republican party. Thus empathy genes are selected for. Google “The Selfish Gene” for a better explanation. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272/60 "2009-08-22T19:51:32Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Empathy didn’t stop evolution. Empathy exists because populations with it usually do better then populations without it. > > Would you want to go into the forest alone, or with a friend who has your back? > > That you both have empathy genes is why you can trust your friend to not to kill you for your pocket watch when it’s convenient. Such populations lacking it would be highly dysfunctional. > > Example: the Republican party. > > Thus empathy genes are selected for. > > Google “The Selfish Gene” for a better explanation. If your friend broke his legs and was bleeding, attracting bears, would you carry him, slowing yourself down and making both of you targets, or leave him and fend for yourself? Seems like an easy question to answer, but human nature and instincts in survival situations can be difficult to predict. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-secret-american-destupization-project/507272.md?page=4)