Mixing ignorance and politics is a bit like mixing alcohol and guns — someone is likely to get hurt.

The ignorance permeating the current “debate” over Common Core standards for state schools would be laughable if our state’s future were not on the line.

Lots of blather about Common Core misses one important thing — shouldn’t Mississippi’s students be held to the same standards as similar students in dozens of other states using Common Core?

Mississippi leaders were among dozens of educators who helped create Common Core.

Unfortunately, political idiots — including a few of our own local legislators — have been screaming about Common Core and suggesting the standards are somehow derived from or led by the federal government. Their fact-less barking has convinced many people that the untruth is true.

Despite massive political opposition, many state superintendents — including Natchez-Adams Superintendent Frederick Hill and the head of Mississippi’s Department of Education — support the higher standards.

Yet the incessant barking continues.

Common Core isn’t the enemy, nor is it perfect. And it’s certainly not led by or created by the federal government. That’s just false. No matter how many times opponents suggest that it is, they cannot change the truth.

Revising and reviewing the standards is fine, encouraged even. For a group of lawmakers to suggest they know more about education than highly skilled professionals is among the most arrogant moves we’ve seen from the Legislature in a long, long time.