Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

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  • Malroth
    Malroth broken down chevrolet Posts: 2,558
    :dizzy:
    The worst of times..they don't phase me,
    even if I look and act really crazy.
  • myoung321
    myoung321 Posts: 2,855
    edited June 2016
    seanwon said:

    hedonist said:



    It's funny...well, not...as I've been looked down upon by some who do have degrees and make assumptions because after high school, I chose to work rather than attend more than one semester of college.

    And I'm doing pretty well on both the life and smart fronts.

    I'd rather reserve opinions of people and their brains, intellect and common sense based on their words and actions, vs a diploma.

    (Street-smarts go a long way too!)

    Absolutely! I'll take someone with street smarts over book smarts any day.

    To do what? I don't want the street smart only guy giving me open heart surgery...

    Then again, why limit yourself to one? Be both..



    Post edited by myoung321 on
    "The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera." - Yusuf Karsh
     


  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,671
    myoung321 said:

    The same thing was said about college students, professors & universities protesting Vietnam War ,Iraq War, Wall Street Bailout..etc etc..

    The younger generation are usually the ones that start change and revolutions. They're the ones looking at the future and what opportunities will be available. Where as people 40+ are usually set in their ways or have created a comfortable life or have responsibilities like family, or paying for those kids to go to school and protest ;).....

    Oh did this hit a sore spot for me! And it is so very true. My fellow boomers were going to change the world. We were as rebellious, motivated, angry, idealistic, demonstrative, visionary and ready to move forward as any in modern history. And then so many made their cushy bed and decided it wasn't worth the trouble. I very often feel lonely among my peers.

    But not all! Sure, later in adulthood other challenges and responsibilities arise and maybe one's activism time is compromised but it doesn't all have to go soft. No way. Some of us still work to support our family, kids, grand kids or godchildren (or as in my case a 95 year old parent) AND work to create change. We did not all throw in the towel.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    edited June 2016
    Right on, Brian. :)

    Once an activist, always an activist. Look at my guy Neil Young. Still a hero.
    Post edited by Free on
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,671
    Free said:

    Right on, Brian. :)

    Once an activist, always an activist. Look at my guy Neil Young. Still a hero.

    :plus_one:
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    When I posted this article in the Trump thread https://newrepublic.com/article/134667/conservatives-groomed-perfect-suckers-trumps-epic-scam
    I wasn't sure if it belonged here but I thought of this thread.
    There’s another factor at work here: The anti-intellectualism that has been a mainstay of the conservative movement for decades also makes its members easy marks. After all, if you are taught to believe that the reigning scientific consensuses on evolution and climate change are lies, then you will lack the elementary logical skills that will set your alarm bells ringing when you hear a flim-flam artist like Trump. The Republican “war on science” is also a war on the intellectual habits needed to detect lies.
  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    When I posted this article in the Trump thread https://newrepublic.com/article/134667/conservatives-groomed-perfect-suckers-trumps-epic-scam
    I wasn't sure if it belonged here but I thought of this thread.
    There’s another factor at work here: The anti-intellectualism that has been a mainstay of the conservative movement for decades also makes its members easy marks. After all, if you are taught to believe that the reigning scientific consensuses on evolution and climate change are lies, then you will lack the elementary logical skills that will set your alarm bells ringing when you hear a flim-flam artist like Trump. The Republican “war on science” is also a war on the intellectual habits needed to detect lies.

    Which is why he loves uneducated people.
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    ^^^
    I don't want to derail, but it seems there is an awful lot.
  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    ^^^
    I don't want to derail, but it seems there is an awful lot.

    I thought it fit in perfectly.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,671
    Interesting topic here! Too much to do right now to read the whole thing but I'm guessing somewhere here some of you have touched on schools and how in general our educational system is geared to create automatons who remain at best only vaguely aware of the concept of critical thinking and who, when they receive their mass produced little pieces of paper at graduation move on to become obedient worker bees.

    Anti-intellectualism is an absolutely necessary component to an industrial military complex form of capitalism. And out of necessity, we've all been willing subjects of that complex at one time or another. I know I have been and still am in some ways. But awareness of that necessity can also get us closer to being free (in our minds if nothing else).
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • pickupyourwill
    pickupyourwill Posts: 3,135
    edited June 2016
    cottagesteeze said:

    seanwon said:

    Go Beavers said:


    I said there's no trend of growing anti-intellectualism.

    Yeah, I don't know. I seem to hear a lot of Conservatives attacking education in recent years. Telling people college is a waste of time because the professors are all "commies", and they are teaching all our kids to be "Socialists". I don't recall hearing that talk 10 years ago, it seems to be a somewhat recent thing.

    I'm a recent college grad and have been talked down to in political discussion for the fact that I graduated college. I went to school for engineering, yet some people still insist that my political views all came from my liberal hippy socialist professors..
    My mother-in-law had this view about 12-13 years ago when I was pregnant with my son. She is one who thought, at the time, that they're all coming out of college liberals. All three of her kids never went to college--well, my husband, but not all the way. And now, him and I are the only 2 independent/ democratic ones on his side of the family--except for her husband, lol--I love that about him--tenaciously holding onto that political view in the swarm of conservatives we're forced to swim with.

    Anyway, she's lightened up a bit from when I first met her--not even sure if she listens to Rush Limbaugh as often, lol. She is definitely not a threatening Republican--mainly keeps her views to herself and family so I can't complain. But just recently her daughter put up a Trump sign in their yard :( And they talked about him being sooooo obnoxious when the 20 some Republicans first came out campaigning. None of their guys made it, so now they're stuck voting Trump. But what's crazy to me is why you would advertise for someone you're not completely on board with--that's how bad they want a Republican in there, how much they hate Hillary...and Bernie, and how threatened they feel that a Republican won't make it in this time.

    To each his own. Even though this election seems rigged--let the best man win.
    Post edited by pickupyourwill on
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,405
    i am sorry. when someone has an article from a peer reviewed medical or science journal, it is scientific fact. you can't oppose scientific facts with opinions.

    that is like all of these studies linking smoking to various forms of cancer and a group of people counter that by saying "the 100 of us have smoked 2 packs a day for 40 years and we don't have cancer." there may be truth in that population's experience, but you can't take that over the hundreds of thousands who have gotten terminal cancer and died from smoking.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    The right doesn't let facts get in the way of their opinions.
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,405
    Smellyman said:

    The right doesn't let facts get in the way of their opinions.

    that is the infuriating part.

    somebody's hunch or somebody's narrative does not trump the findings and the work that scientists have devoted their lives to studying.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    gimmesometruth27 said:

    Smellyman said:

    The right doesn't let facts get in the way of their opinions.

    that is the infuriating part.

    somebody's hunch or somebody's narrative does not trump the findings and the work that scientists have devoted their lives to studying.
    That's why I don't debate here as much as I used to or in real life even. It is infuriating using facts, logic and reason with people who are having none of it. I can only handle the 'well it's what I believe' argument for so long.
  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    Smellyman said:

    gimmesometruth27 said:

    Smellyman said:

    The right doesn't let facts get in the way of their opinions.

    that is the infuriating part.

    somebody's hunch or somebody's narrative does not trump the findings and the work that scientists have devoted their lives to studying.
    That's why I don't debate here as much as I used to or in real life even. It is infuriating using facts, logic and reason with people who are having none of it. I can only handle the 'well it's what I believe' argument for so long.
    You and me both.
  • Shawshank
    Shawshank Posts: 1,018
    This seems to be on topic...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    Free said:

    Smellyman said:

    gimmesometruth27 said:

    Smellyman said:

    The right doesn't let facts get in the way of their opinions.

    that is the infuriating part.

    somebody's hunch or somebody's narrative does not trump the findings and the work that scientists have devoted their lives to studying.
    That's why I don't debate here as much as I used to or in real life even. It is infuriating using facts, logic and reason with people who are having none of it. I can only handle the 'well it's what I believe' argument for so long.
    You and me both.
    I don't believe you guys that's just your opinion on things.
    Peoples beliefs can be etched with facts they know longer should have to present.
    Like for instance the earth is flat.
  • PJPOWER
    PJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    Shawshank said:

    This seems to be on topic...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

    That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    PJPOWER said:

    Shawshank said:

    This seems to be on topic...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

    That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?
    Well if your country is that chalk and block full of dumb people that you say it is and they all vote then Trump is your next POTUS.

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