What you think is true probably is not.

There are such things as facts. Within reason you can get close to the number of people in the world who cannot read.  You can do this with research and use those marvelous things called numbers.  It turns out that 80% of the people in the world can read when you actually and factually check into it. However, try this today.  Go up to anyone you know and ask them "What percent of people in the world do you think can read?".   Your typical person will say somewhere between 20 and 40 percent.

It turns out that when you inquire with the average person about the most basic facts of humanity, they are woefully ignorant.  Why is this?  People want to believe what they agree with, so the listen to, and read things they agree with.  The net result is they live in an artificial world that does not exist.

People think the poor are stealing all the money.  The facts don't in any manner shape or form support that notion.  The poor are actually like a high milage car, they get by on a very small portion of the total wealth of the country.  The poor make up about 20% of the population, but only use about 2% of all the goodies.  Another popular belief that simply does not hold up to the reality of the numbers is that the poor are lazy.  Again, this is simply not true. Most of the so called poor work, and often they work more than one job. Many of the so called poor are single working mothers.

It has always been the case in history for politicians to feed the fires of ignorance. While the wealthy live the life of ease they get the common man to believe it is the poor, the Mexicans, and the lazy who are the problem.  This works great for Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.  There is a vast market for people who do not want to address reality, but would rather listen to someone distort it for them.