The C-Section: Social conservatives dumb, not representative

Are conservatives stupid? What about racists and homophobes?

I wouldn't hesitate to say southern Louisiana and most of the South would probably say they aren't.

But it turns out they're wrong — conservatives, racists and homophobes may be a little dumb, a new study said.

The study, conducted by psychology professors at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, set out to find the relation between cognitive ability and explanations of prejudice in more than 15,000 people.

While some may call such a conclusion liberal bigotry, the findings have a lot to show us as a society.

The study assessed groups of people's childhood intelligence at ages 10 and 11 and reassessed them for their political ideologies and racism in adulthood between the ages of 30 and 33.

Social conservatism was assessed in terms of respect and submission to authority and support for conventional sex roles. Statements that tapped into conservative values were rated.

"Give law breakers stiffer sentences" and "Family life suffers if mum is working full-time" were some of the statements subjects rated.

Finally, racism was assessed by rating statements such as "I wouldn't mind working with people from other races" and "I wouldn't mind if a family of a different race moved next door."

African-Americans are not out to shoot you or steal your car. Arabs are not out to blow up your plane. Homosexuals aren't posing any threat to "traditional moral values."

Actually believing those things makes you ignorant.

If we put it in terms of the 2012 elections, we're talking Rick Santorum and Rick Perry dumb.

Carlos Hunter, finance and economics senior, said he thinks the study is not representative of conservatives as a whole.

"Look at CEOs of major companies," Hunter said. "Those guys are mostly conservative."

Here's another reason why many typically conservative states are socially conservative: lack of adequate education.

States throughout the South are notorious for having the worst public education and for being conservative.

In fact, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi were in the 10 dumbest states list, according to Morgan Quitno Press, a research company that specializes in state data.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again — we need better education in the South.

With better, more comprehensive education, people will learn to use critical thinking before making judgments purely based on emotion and fear — which are typical of most socially conservative ideologies.

We're now at a point in time when everyone should realize that racism and homophobia are both entirely unwarranted beliefs of hate against humans.

In the end, social conservatives may have stupid viewpoints, but that can change if they learn to think analytically.

We need to change the way we think of humans. And change is nothing to be afraid of.

Chris Grillot is a 20-year-old English and mass communication senior from New Orlreans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.

----

Contact Chris Grillot at cgrillot@lsureveille.com