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Is it all over the world, or only in America, where the ignorant have open contempt for the intelligent? A documentarin wins an Academy Award for a film, or a statesman wins the Nobel Prize, and they are called fat stupid morons by people who cannot write a complete sentence or spell ten words in a row correctly. How did this happen? The ignorant and the stupid are proud of their status in society. They encounter a well-dressed, well-read person who speaks articulately, and their reaction is "He thinks he's so smart". The ignorant see the social viewpoint of the educated, experienced and mature, and then make it a point to advocate policy that is the exact opposite. Why are the foolish so proud of their foolishmess? The failures so pround of their lack of success?
So go to it. Type in your half-line response and punctuate it with an emoticon.
Most people who never go to college end up regretting it the rest of their lives. They even display inferiority complexes from time to time when in the same room with someone that knows how to speak, write, and eloquate themselves better who happened to go to college. This is nothing new
While anti-intellectualism is popular the world over, it does have a unique place in US cultural history starting with the romanticisation of the rural 'self-made man' in early American literature as contrasted to the out-of-touch pompous urban intellectual. It is a cultural model that began to take root in the earliest moments of the US and continues to the present day and has played itself out politically over the years (anyone recall reading about the Know-Nothing party in the 1800's that played upon nativist fears and suggested that one who 'overthought' answers to social and political problems were suspect eggheads to be treated with suspicion and contempt), it is easy to see similar political rhetoric being employed in current campaigns (and no, just just with the Republicans, although recently they've employed said strategy with so much success it has begun to be associated with them even though the liberal populism of the past has also employed such political strategies with equal success).
Maybe that's why the bulk of our nation's higher learning institutions, which were built or founded in the 1800's are located in rural 'college towns'. Ivy league set aside, most people go to college in the country.
Our society places more value on looks and money than on hard work and intelligence. We have placed high priority on tv filler stories, like Anna Nicole Smith's death, Lindsey Lohan going to rehab, and political scandals that have no bearing on our lives.
The substance of America is gone. We are a nation of people who want to work less, play more, complain rather than change anything, and live like a rock star.
My grandmother moved in with me and my family a few months ago and I ran across some of her school books from primary and secondary school. When I saw the material in these texts I realized our country is in trouble. Our children are learning in college what my grandmother was learning in 8th grade.
Maybe that's why the bulk of our nation's higher learning institutions, which were built or founded in the 1800's are located in rural 'college towns'. Ivy league set aside, most people go to college in the country.
I did not check to see where you are from, but many universities are in cities. Take a look at Boston (75 +colleges/universities), UVA, UNC, Duke, Emory, University of Richmond, American, George Washington, University of Chicago, NYU, University of Michigan, etc...not rural schools. I didn't even make it to the west coast yet.
Our society places more value on looks and money than on hard work and intelligence. We have placed high priority on tv filler stories, like Anna Nicole Smith's death, Lindsey Lohan going to rehab, and political scandals that have no bearing on our lives.
The substance of America is gone. We are a nation of people who want to work less, play more, complain rather than change anything, and live like a rock star.
My grandmother moved in with me and my family a few months ago and I ran across some of her school books from primary and secondary school. When I saw the material in these texts I realized our country is in trouble. Our children are learning in college what my grandmother was learning in 8th grade.
What you just said is amazing but true. And sad!
We were driving in the car one day and my son was sharing some of his college wisdom. He asked me a question about accounting. Our daughter started laughing because I had helped her with the same subject when she was in college. I carried a 100 average in accounting in high school for 12 weeks. I got nothing but A's the rest of the school year. He had studied the same thing in his senior college class that I had studied in my high school class. When I went to college, I basically just got credit for what I had studied in high school. Some schools still teach today, but when most of the teacher's time is spent keeping control of the class, not much is being learned.
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