Because, like politics, people will go with what they know, not what is best, sadly. :(

Upvoat and a different perspective. Yes, JS is ugly but so is every language. There will never be a usable pretty language because the algorithms will never be pretty. As a developer since the late 70s and someone who has been in chip design to software to web (you get the difference of the last two), I have tried almost every language and processor architecture. It isn't about our preferences for the tools that fit our algorithms, it is about the tool that can consolidate the platform.

For web development, the goal is GUI and that gets messy. I agree software has taken a major turn but we've seen this before (birth of the GUI with Apple and PCs). A new idea emerges and the tools splinter. You find yourself in patchwork coding in a bunch of crappy languages trying to tie them together. Over time they get consolidated into a set of uniform tools. This isn't a bad thing. It is just happening again. C++ and Java are crappy languages just the value of consolidation outweighed the beauty for the first GUIs. The web is consolidating toward JS.

The splinter is happening in robotics. We use a bunch of disconnected ideas and tools and hardware in patchwork fashion. Eventually, that environment will consolidate too, though it will be some years away. The tool that brings consolidation, regardless of ugliness, will be the future.

Cheers.

Welcome to the creation culture!

As someone who has been carrying a computer in his pocket since 1979 (fancy stuff back then), start with an interpreted language. Python is awesome. So is NodeJs (aka JavaScript).

You can find lots of information and tutorials and examples for both. Don't try to learn to program. Create a goal, something very simple, and figure it out. Sweat, swear, cuss, but stick to it. When you suceed, research other ways to do the same thing (yes, post). Pick another tiny goal, rinse, repeat.

The secret to learning is unlearning. Best of luck!