Ignorant Update at XRoads

Apparently stung that I showcased his lies about my chat comments, Simpson has compounded the lies with this:

UPDATE: The author of the comments claims that these statements, especially the first, were taken out of context. That’s to be expected. But when someone says:

We live in a nation of dumbed down ignoramuses.

… one must conclude that the speaker also thinks “Americans are stupid.”

One MUST? Only if one believes stupid and ignorant are synonyms, which they emphatically are not -- as anyone who teaches at a major state university should be edumacated enough to know. Let's look at some definitions, shall we?

Stupid:
adjective
lacking in common sense, perception, or normal intelligence

Ignoramus:
noun
an extremely ignorant person

Ignorant:
adjective
lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned

Dumbed down:
Slang
To rewrite for a less educated or less sophisticated audience

Stupid implies impaired or limited intellectual capacity. All the rest -- ignoramus, ignorant, dumbed down -- deals with the lack of knowledge. It is possible to lack knowledge because one is intellectually impaired or deficient, but it is also possible to be highly intelligent and still lack knowledge. Thus, knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing.

It's hard to relate to a love of denigration so strong that someone would willingly compromise his level of education and his (purported) integrity by implying stupidity and ignorance are the same thing.