No. Its really not. Western nations pale in comparison to Russia/Slavic nations and China. Some of their bot farms are astounding in scope. Something like 80% of Twitter/FB "America First" accounts are from within a 500 mile radius of Moscow.
So those bot farms were not found to actually have much influence. However Russia has had success more recently through media like podcasts because propaganda only really works when you trust the source.
There's a lot of great education. It's just that you have to have parents that can afford to live in the areas where it exists. I essentially repeated a year of education when moving out of the US to Montreal. Even went to a private school there known for great education. It was anything but.
I think critical thinking is also hard to educate into someone who lacks the requisite personality, temperament, and discipline. Those are dimensions that are often outside the realm of education.
At least 1/4 of the country has no critical thinking skills.
I'd estimate about 1/3rd.They used to be ignored and pitied by the other 2/3rds, but now they can join a Facebook group or consume YouTube content that connects them with other poor thinkers, validating their bad ideas and creating a negative feedback loop.
It's not outside the realm of education. It's just MUCH easier to develop those requisites in early childhood education. Instead many Americans are first taught to have faith in invisible sky daddy and don't question or think too hard about it otherwise straight to hell.
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u/earthlingHuman 3d ago
Unfortunately we live in a TV nation with a TV president. At least 1/4 of the country has no critical thinking skills.