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Left-wing intellectuals, and particularly those who oppose them, would be well-advised to study Ayn Rand's "For the New Intellectual (http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AR08B - broken link)."
Great fiction. Should be read along with the works of Edward Bellamy and L. Frank Baum.
I do not support either party but when I think of people who are intellectual, by definition, they will be more open to different cultures, more tolerant, worldly and skeptical of organized religion. The typical "Conservative" values are almost anti-intellectual by definition, they involve religion(which I abhor), an extreme pro life view of abortion(possibly motivated by religious views) and a worldview which is very limited in scope and ethnocentric. In my life, I have met very few people who hold such values and could be considered intellectuals.
2 a: given to study, reflection, and speculation
b: engaged in activity requiring the creative use of the intellect
The definition of intellectual does not include tolerant, worldly, or skeptical of organized religion. Those are all your personal perception of intellectuals and a somewhat widespread misunderstanding of what it means to be an intellectual. I do agree that those views are often associated with intellectuals, but they are not exclusive. There are and will continue to be intellectual conservatives. It is unfortunate for discourse in general that conservatives dismiss intellectual liberals based on their being intellectual and intellectual conservatives are marginalized in intellectual communities because of their conservative beliefs. I think all views benefit by study, reflection, and speculation.
One would certainly call a Catholic Theologian an intellectual--certainly more intellectual than someone who simply participates in the occasional intellectual pursuit--but one doubts that a Catholic Theologian would be too skeptical of organized religion or anything but conservative. The freshwater school would be another example of intellectual conservatives.
The democratic principles upon which the country were founded frowned on the elitist view. The view was that only the educated upper echelon of a society should rule or have participation in the decisions of governance.
For some reason there are people that believe that the founding fathers were all uneducated illiterate peasants.
I have heard the term "Liberal elite" used mainly by some Republican anti-intellectuals to describe the stereotypical Liberal and although I do not consider myself a Liberal, I have to admit that some of the characteristics of a "Liberal elitist" totally describe me as a person. Basically, being educated, appreciating different cultures and watching foreign movies is supposed to be a sign of Liberal elitism? I feel fortunate to be raised by parents who were educated, worldly and had high expectations for us.
Wikipedia goes on to say that "The liberal elite are often stereotyped as being snooty and condescending toward others, particularly those living in Middle America"
I have to admit that I do have a certain condescending attitude towards people who are uneducated and ignorant because these are the people who kept someone like Bush in power for 8 years, how can you not feel this way?
All things considered, Are intellectuals mainly Liberals in your opinion
I almost threw up in my mouth reading that
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You're right!
