Anti Intellectualism in the US. Don't be a fool, we also suffer from this on this site

[nadinbrzezinski]

IN the US, every so often, we have an epidemic that surfaces, and that is a distrust for people who have an education. We may call them many a names, but it comes down to distrust, best case. It is dangerous. Some of the worst elements of this hate of intellectuals was seen during the Cultural Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution). During this period of Chinese History many of those high flutting intellectuals who appreciated things like language and meta analysis of culture, were in some cases lined against the wall and killed.

Are we there yet in this country? Not quite. But the distrust of the latte drinking white educated classes, that is the stereotype that comes to many a mind, is that of the useless who do not contribute anything to society, except words.

Language and the study of society is seen as something dangerous, even alien.

We as a nation have been here... before. Every other Great Revival (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Awakening) was accompanied by this religious fervor, and mistrust of the cultural elites. This mistrust of the educated is also common in other revolutions, such as the French Revolution, where people like Jacques Lavossier ended up loosing their heads. This is the mistrust of the down to earth folks of those who have had the fortune of getting an education

There is a reason for this. Many of the elites, such as John Burke, have worked to preserve the current order. Indeed, in the modern period we have seen a split between those who work to preserve the current image of what is proper, and those who don't. Whether is it Antonio Gramsci in Italy, or Howard Zinn in the US, these are revolutionaries, who are critical of the status quo. Yet, most people have contact with the Stuffed shirts at the local colleges, who wear corduroy, are paid very well (not really) who spread the usual story line approved by their professional organizations. Granted, it is hard to go into true social criticism in an introductory sociology, or history class, or poli sci class, but never let that fact interrupt the mythology that these people are useless.

In our popular culture people with an education are seen as high fluting, even pompous. After all these people will use "fifty cent words." which are not what we the people use. Hell, this post if full of that pompous language, not the people's language.

This anti intellectualism usually is followed by a reduction in things like funding of the arts and sciences, to the detrimental effect of the nation, or the tight control of what can be studied, and what can be written. Nazi science was full of this, and how we had to get away from that Jewish science... and to a certain extent, NIH is doing something similar, and the current culture applauds the rise of ghosts and other figments of our imagination, and the rise of creation science as a "valid" field of study.

We are closer to this kind of revolution where language is leading the way. And I fear for the nation

Oh and by the way, the emphasis on the I and the Me, instead of the WE is part of it.

That is all.

[Speck Tater]

1. The distrust doesn't come from the fact that these people are educated.

The mistrust and dislike comes from the snotty attitude that says "I am shocked and appalled that you don't agree with me on every single issue, since I am obviously your intellectual superior."

Oh, and it's "highfalutin", not "high fluting" http://www.bartleby.com/61/40/H0194000.html

(I only mention that to point out that I am your intellectual superior and you should bow to my judgment in all matters political.) :sarcasm:

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Yes master

:-)

But i fear it is deeper than you think

[arendt]

3. I talked about this four years ago. Seems like a good time to recycle that...

Chairman George's Dominionist Guard (Feb 2004)

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/arendt/10

EXCERPT 1

1. Our Great Leap Backwards

Just as the 1958 "Great Leap Forward" ruined China's economy
and discredited Mao, the Reagan/Bush 1980s deficit binge and
send-manufacturing-to-Asia deindustrialization strategy ruined
the U.S. economy and elected Bill Clinton. After both debacles, more
pragmatic people moved in to clean up the mess. And, both groups
of pragmatists were undermined at every step by unrepentant,
outraged ideologues. In each case, the ideologues managed to
grab back power within a decade.

In both cases, they went on to launch full-blown Inquisitions,
carried out by ill-educated, but fanatical followers. These
inquisitions were directed at anyone perceived to have an
education, to be disloyal to the maximum leader, to not have
the "holy" book memorized, to not salute fast enough.

...."Mao had long nurtured a deep hostility toward the educated,
....whom he associated with the discredited Confucian system...
.... He distrusted intellectuals, disliked specialization, and clung to
....his view that the peasants, not the workers, were repositories
....of basic virtue and the driving force of the revolution."

..The Xenophile Historian
..A Concise History of China; Chapter 8: CHINA SINCE 1949
..http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/china/ch...

In both cases, the leader was supported by a small gang of
extremist ideolgoues/propagandists, who, in turn, depended
on the backing of the leader for their high position. In China,
they became known, infamously, as the Gang of Four....

EXCERPT 2

The evidence of membership in the demonized group can be any
talisman that has acquired a cultural significance: a book, an article
of clothing, a style of decoration, an SUV, a latte, a Volvo, sushi.
This may seem comical, but it is no exaggeration. Pol Pot shot anyone
with a wristwatch or eyeglasses, the Taliban killed schoolteachers, and
the Red Guards tormented university professors, driving many to
suicide.

...."the infamous Red Guard student brigades went on a rampage,
....destroying anything associated with pre-1949 China or the West.
....Targets included tight trousers, jazz records, silk clothes, mah-jongg
....sets, antiques, classical and foreign literature, religious objects,
....and even pets...

...."In all areas, from surgery to nuclear physics and beyond, Mao's
....words were law. Application of the wisdom of Chairman Mao, as
....contained in the little red book, Quotations from Chairman Mao
...Zedong, was to lead to miraculous achievements. Placing political
....purity above economic growth, the Red Guards hampered production
....and research.

..http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/china/ch...

Today we have serial extremist David Horowitz and the wife of
the Vice President, Lynne Cheney, creating a blacklist and setting
up a witch hunt on campus and in the Volunteer Organizations
community. We have the upteenth incarnation of creationism
censoring science textbooks in Georgia. We have the President
interfering with basic biotech research on religious grounds.
We have an Attorney General more interested in prosecuting
pornographers than terrorists.

This anti-intellectual salon, feted in Washington soirees, has been
delivering their agitprop to the fundamentalist masses for decades.
And, just like the Red Guards, those fundies all wave one book.
One book that contains all the truth that they think they need to know.
And God help anyone who tries to tell them different.

-------

Thanks for the thread.

arendt

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. You welcome, and great addition to the thread

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. kick

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. kick for evening crowd

[Bigmack]

7. Great book on the Anti-Intellectual current....

that runs through American History.

"Age of American Unreason" by Susan Jacoby

She starts out by quoting Hofstadter's "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" published in 1963.
Hofstadter wrote that anti-intellectualism is built into American culture and is subject to fluctuations.
Jacoby adds "America is now ill with a powerful mutant strain of intertwined ignorance, anti-rationalism,
and anti-intellectualism - as opposed to the recognizable cyclical strains of the past.... This condition is
aggressively promoted by everyone, from politicians, to media executives, whose livelihood depends
on a public that derives its opinions from sound bites...."

Two thirds of Americans are unable to identify DNA as the key to heredity... One in five adults think
the sun revolves around the earth...Nine out of 10 do not understand radiation and what it does to
the body. (National Science Foundation)

We've always had an anti-intellectual element in our culture... but this time it's for serious.

I'd comment on the anti intellectual tone of some of the posts on DU, but I'm faaaar too intellectual to stoop to that. :evilgrin:

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Been meaning to read her book

I wonder if I should take it to our trip we're taking... first in ten years, but fear TSA will see it as not worthy of a loyal american

Will add to my list of books to read... finally started that file

And I will comment on the threads on DU... we have this virus even HERE...

[Fumesucker]

9. Ah dunno..

After reading a few threads here over the last couple of days I'm a bit put off by some "intellectuals" myself..

Not an exact quote but: "It's good that gas is now $4 a gallon".

As someone not well ensconced among the financially secure, that thread was like a slap in the face.


The trouble with "book larnin'" is that it so often seems to override common sense and street smarts.

In theory, theory and practice are equivalent, in practice they are not.

But then I'm kind of an "educated redneck" and not a real, card carrying intellectual.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. That thread was not one from an intellectual

nor somebody who understood language and how language has been used to form our thoughts...

Some real card carrying intellectuals on this site are people like Arendt, that try to go into that little aspect of language

Or people with deep knowledge of history and economics who try to share, like Waterman (H20.

Outside my favorite is Howard Zinn, of the current generation

And I would like to argue that "educated rednecks" have contributed a lot to the intellectual tapestry of this country, see Barbara Tuchman. She never got a formal education in history, but could go round and round many people with Ph.Ds

[kineneb]

10. started with the Puritans

and the other religious dissenters who came here in the 17th century. They believed everything a person needed to know was in the Bible...some people have alas not evolved (yes, evolved) beyond that primitive belief.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I think it goes beyond the puritans, though they are partly

responsible for this

But every religious revival we've seen it

And what we saw over the last seven years in particular will be seen as a great revival