>>11651746Because the right-wing ideal is for the many to be as ignorant--and obedient to the harsh and arbitrary authority of a dimwit few--as it is possible to make them. Also, the less parochial with respect to place and time any subject of inquiry is--astronomy and natural history particularly--the more embarrassing the results are to the claims of religious fundamentalists. A certain fragility of ego, born of abuse and neglect, is also involved, in that those who always feel besieged by grim contingencies, even under favorably changed circumstances, aren't apt to take the larger view with tranquil equanimity.
