Provide testing for logic, critical thinking, and empathy in order to vote?

Stop making excuses for stupid people that hold back the progress of mankind?

Reading.

We need everyone to read more books. A wide variety of stories on a wide variety of topics by a wide variety of authors, all with different backgrounds and ideas. We must read stories that let us temporarily step into the mind and experiences of other people, who aren't us, to train our brains the ability to understand the plights of others. Books of human stories, as opposed to movies, doom-scrolling TikTok, etc., seems uniquely suited for this kind of training of empathy, because the stories are executed inside our own brains.

I'm willing to bet that these why-are-the-leopards-suddenly-eating-my-face? the-only-moral-abortion-is-my-abortion type people have read distinctly less, or at least far less varied, stories than us who look at them and wonder how it is possible to be so unable to put themselves in the shoes of anyone but themselves.

This is an explanation of human perception and behaviour, there is nothing controversial about it and easily understood. It is also true that if you stick someone in a creepy haunted house they will naturally feel scared even though it's Halloween and it's perfectly safe. The issue is not that humans have these natural tendencies that lead to logical fallacies, the issue is that humans have the capacity to be meta aware of them, process them, and situate them appropriately--skills developed through education and practice/experience--yet we have sociopolitocal movements that encourage the opposite for the benefit of the rich and powerful.

I don't think it's more human mature than the opposite is.

Most of us are capable of reasoning and of empathy. We can hear a doctor say "there's cases where it's necessary" and think "yeah, makes sense" or "I trust their expertise".

Not being able to see past oneself seems like a very limited view. There's reasons for that of course. but it's a failure of education and social surroundings. And it's not inherent.

I get your point, but i think people are not consistent with this. Who gets or doesnt get sympathy is entirely emotional.

Ive had people say that refugees are at fault for not getting their papers in order in time and shut be deportet over it and then go on to talk about how for them as citizens it is impossible with the low staffed and inefficient government offices these days.

They willfully ignore that their problems with the bureaucracy could exist for other people too. And we are not even talking about acknowledgong it to be worse. Just simply transferring their life experience onto other people like you describe.

Just for your info: There is no "downdooted to oblivion" on Lemmy. Up- and downvotes for comments have almost no effect.