Anti-intelectualism

[ashling]

[pampango]

1. Something tells me Mr. Asimov was not a republican.

As for Krugman, he is living proof that economics is more religion than science.

[jeff47]

3. I assure you there's plenty of anti-intellectualism on our side.

See: Anti-vaxxers, cell phones will give you cancer, GMOs will cause every illness known to man, and so on.

The difference is such people aren't in control of the Democratic party, and they rule the Republican party.

[pampango]

4. Actually the excerpt I posted if from a DU post, so ...... I agree.

[SidDithers]

2. DU rec...nt

Sid

[snagglepuss]

5. Brilliant. Bookmarked.

thanks for posting

[colsohlibgal]

6. Absolutely

That would explain Dubya having 40 or so million people who voted for him each time. Notice I did not say elected, because it's a fact for 2000 and a pretty firm suspicion for 2004.

[Humanist_Activist]

7. It goes even further than that, anti-intellectualism actually turns ignorance into a virtue...

and knowledge into a vice. Many of these people are proud they don't know about something, or worse, pretend they don't know, and also make up their own superstitious or pseudo-scientific answers for everything they don't know about. And they are always, always, easy answers that don't require much thought.

Then then turn around and project their egotism in the pretend knowledge by calling those who have true knowledge elitists.

[Aldo Leopold]

8. +1

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. It's the "I don't hold much by book l'arnin'" syndrome,

which may have been justifiable on the frontier, when your survival depended on building a log cabin and getting the crops in, but it's dysfunctional in today's society.

[Enthusiast]

9. Mr. Asimov, that meme is being reinforced by our media now.

We call it false equivalency.

[certainot]

10. sad part is, many state funded colleges endorse RW radio, which is dedicated to anti-intellectualism

here's a list of over 70 major universities that rent their sports logos to 170 of the 600 limbaugh megaphones that along with many others have been attacking intellectualism, science, teachers, public ed for 25 years. probably 30-40% of the 1200 rw stations piggyback our colleges like that, benefitting from the community standing and the advertising it brings in.

https://sites.google.com/site/universitiesforrushlimbaugh/

[Vashta Nerada]

11. Anti-intellectualism is sweeping across the country.

It's taking over colleges, universities, and the general public. Hell, it's taking over this website. Find any woo thread and you'll find anti-intellectualism.

[cry baby]

12. The entertainment media is even glorifying ignorance...

with all the reality shows that make people like the ones in Duck Dynasty heroes in our culture.

[ananda]

13. Sinclair Lewis, another great author ...

In Arrowsmith he excoriatingly and hilariously highlights the particularly
American anti-intellectual, materialist bias which callously and carelessly
destroys the idealism of youth and the realization of ideals by those with
age and experience who seek to make the world a better place while
still loving learning for the sake of learning, and research just for the
sheer joy of it.

I'm also thinking of a great intellectual and truly great man, Adlai
Stevenson, who lost to Eisenhower because Americans didn't trust
"eggheads." That was a great loss for our country and the world.

Everyone should read Stevenson's veto of the "cat bill" while governor
of Illinois to see what a great mind can do with the more trivial idiotic
ideas of lesser minds.

[GeorgeGist]

15. Please proof your Title.

[bemildred]

17. Don't you love the irony? nt

[bemildred]

16. I think it's more a matter of self-interest and fundamental dishonesty.

Intellectualism is fine as long as it serves the interests of power, otherwise not.