I couldn't give you numbers, but here in the US a dismal number likely couldn't make it through either text... followed by a larger, possibly more dismal block that could make it through the text, but could take it only in the context of - and thus constitute confirmation of - their political side/tribe.

I'd say that, together, the twain would constitute a solid 80% of the population.

I almost typed a bigger number evenly divisible by 10, but the rush of fear that ensued backed me down to 80%....

I just think about how infrequently we're out and about, and a conversation occurs that isn't either "Yay for our team!" or "What kind of a fucking imbecile are you?", i.e. how rarely conversations break out in which both parties are willing to genuinely allow inputs new to them, explore logical conclusions, genuinely debate, playfully/cleverly admit bias/errors and - GASP! - attempt to rise above them in public....

Let's just say it seems utterly hopeless.

Then again, we live in a part of the country traditionally considered "about as dumbfuck as it gets", so maybe I'm almost panicking in vain....

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~tetris wrote (thread):

I'm not sure how much this quote applies here, but what you wrote reminded me of this quote of a quote from Kurt Vonnegut:

> "America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.

> Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves."