Posted by Sir Four at 11:56am Aug 12 '05The right-wing in America has long been critical of urban blacks, claiming that blacks have a culture that places a negative value on education and intellectual advancement. This celebration of underachievement, says the right, is what dooms urban blacks ... it is a fault within their community which must be corrected.
But if so, then why has the right-wing adopted the very same culture of anti-intellectualism? We have a president whose campaign used his folksy lack of smarts as a selling feature. Amazingly, the term "anti-intellectual" was widely considered a positive trait in right-wing circles. In much of the south, the word "intellectual" is a slur used against college-educated northerners.
Granted, an undercurrent of anti-intellectualism has always pervaded the right-wing south. A century ago, they didn't need "your fancy book-learnin'" and today they don't need your evolution in their science curriculum. But however deep-rooted the anti-intellectualism is, it seems to have taken on a massive resurgence in the last 5+ years.
Why? I could speculate that the break-neck pace of progress and scientific advancement--something people the world over are having difficulty keeping up with--is resulting in a backlash. The coasts, where most of the so-called intellectual elites reside, are the regions best-equipped to keep up with the pace. In regions not so well-equipped--regions, for instance, that felt no part of the technology boom in the 90s--the easier thing to do is pretend that you don't need to keep up--rather, you need to return to traditional, provincial ways of life. Reject science, reject progress, reject the fancy ideas of those know-it-alls on the coasts. You know better by not knowing better.
To me, it kind of parallels the mentality of those disaffected urban blacks, who feel that their place is not in the world of the "elites" (educated and powerful white people), so just forget all that and "keep it real" by eeking out a life in the 'hood. The way right-wingers "keep it real" is by accepting that their place is not among the "elites" (educated white northern liberals, in their view), but among their fellow heartland folk, and with Bible in hand they'll eek out a living. Oh, and vote for dim-bulb candidates who they'd like to have a beer with.
Now of course I am not saying right-wingerdom is devoid of intellectualism. The rise of right-wing think tanks and corporate conservatism proves otherwise. What I am talking about is the new right-wing populism that has swept through so-called red states. And I'm looking for comments.
But if so, then why has the right-wing adopted the very same culture of anti-intellectualism? We have a president whose campaign used his folksy lack of smarts as a selling feature. Amazingly, the term "anti-intellectual" was widely considered a positive trait in right-wing circles. In much of the south, the word "intellectual" is a slur used against college-educated northerners.
Granted, an undercurrent of anti-intellectualism has always pervaded the right-wing south. A century ago, they didn't need "your fancy book-learnin'" and today they don't need your evolution in their science curriculum. But however deep-rooted the anti-intellectualism is, it seems to have taken on a massive resurgence in the last 5+ years.
Why? I could speculate that the break-neck pace of progress and scientific advancement--something people the world over are having difficulty keeping up with--is resulting in a backlash. The coasts, where most of the so-called intellectual elites reside, are the regions best-equipped to keep up with the pace. In regions not so well-equipped--regions, for instance, that felt no part of the technology boom in the 90s--the easier thing to do is pretend that you don't need to keep up--rather, you need to return to traditional, provincial ways of life. Reject science, reject progress, reject the fancy ideas of those know-it-alls on the coasts. You know better by not knowing better.
To me, it kind of parallels the mentality of those disaffected urban blacks, who feel that their place is not in the world of the "elites" (educated and powerful white people), so just forget all that and "keep it real" by eeking out a life in the 'hood. The way right-wingers "keep it real" is by accepting that their place is not among the "elites" (educated white northern liberals, in their view), but among their fellow heartland folk, and with Bible in hand they'll eek out a living. Oh, and vote for dim-bulb candidates who they'd like to have a beer with.
Now of course I am not saying right-wingerdom is devoid of intellectualism. The rise of right-wing think tanks and corporate conservatism proves otherwise. What I am talking about is the new right-wing populism that has swept through so-called red states. And I'm looking for comments.
Right-Wingers and Anti-Intellectualism - Sir Four