Jackson Free Press

A new book, by Susan Jacoby, asks this question, especially about why so many Americans are so little interested in actual facts before forming (and spewing) opinions. Read more, as reviewed by the New York Times:

[N]ow, Ms. Jacoby said, something different is happening: anti-intellectualism (the attitude that "too much learning can be a dangerous thing") and anti-rationalism ("the idea that there is no such things as evidence or fact, just opinion") have fused in a particularly insidious way.

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don't think it matters.

She pointed to a 2006 National Geographic poll that found nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don't think it is necessary or important to know where countries in the news are located. So more than three years into the Iraq war, only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map.

Previous Comments

ID

117171

Comment

Of course, this problem is exacerbated by a corporate media, like The Clarion-Ledger, here that are more apt to stick their finger in the wind and not give basic facts about something (a president, a mayor, a lawsuit, real crime trends) rather than go against what people think they want to hear—based on bad information and incorrect facts, already. This problem is epidemic proportions here, in a state where knowledge has never really been valued over all over rhetoric and demaguogery. It makes it so easy to built patently false cases against people like Harvey Johnson and Faye Peterson, while turning people like Ed Peters and Frank Melton into folk heroes. Oh, and to justify endorsing Bush in the second election. And, of course, vapid partisanship loves anti-intellectualism. As good as the blogosphere is for challenging the gatekeeping of corporate media, it also contains a serious danger when it comes to affecting public opinion based on whatever the Swiftboaters, so to speak, are whining about on the more irresponsible blogs. (And that problem isn't really helped by the fact that people who own and edit blogs are exempt from liability for the comments of people who comment on their blogs and Web sites (although the owners/editors are held to the same stricter libel standards as other media outlets for their own commentary and accuracy. Which should worry some locals.) The truth is, we need an atmosphere in which self-regulation of unsubstantiated attacks is encouraged for everyone (thus, the reason anonymous trolls hate the JFP so much -- because we don't allow it, regardless of liability), if for no other reason than such a glut of bad information is making our country dumber and less responsible when we go to the voting booth. We need a call for people to ask themselves what rhetoric means. I recall the guy here who was defending Ron Paul's immigration ideas as kinda progressive -- but didn't even know what "birthright citizenship" meant on Paul's Web site. Why don't we ask questions instead of being so easily divided into one of two camps? The media's fake "objectivity" model (which is really designed not to offend big advertisers too much) is certainly a huge problem. But, the truth is, an unthinking public too often lets them get away with it but just picking up a cynical, patently false "fair and balanced" meme and repeating it ad nauseum, regardless of the actual facts.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-15T13:31:44-06:00

ID

117172

Comment

Also, I've said on this site before that conservatives who make fun of people who are educated on certain issues (calling them "elitist" just because they know something they don't; Haley Barbour and Trent Lott are too prominent violators) are the very same thing as kids as a high school making fun of other kids who try to get good grades. It all comes from the same kind of ignorance.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-15T13:32:54-06:00

ID

117173

Comment

The only things our culture emphasizes is sex and stupidity.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-02-15T13:34:14-06:00

ID

117174

Comment

Sadly, I agree, Iron. Except I would add "and fear of the 'other.'" Division feeds our system and corporate media coffers, and the anti-intellectuals are the gas fueling that problem. They do the heavy lifting, and when their efforts on behalf of something they didn't research falls flat, they just move onto a new unresearched meme to push. The vital missing link is self-examination about why you supported something that was so obviously wrong, so you don't do it again. (Think: Bush, Melton, the Delay corruption machine.) That self-examination is vital, even if it's not easy to explore why you were fooled. I did it when the Lewinsky scandal broke, and that is when I realized how wrong I was to vote for Clinton the first time around, considering the evidence that he was willing to abuse and toss aside women without a second thought.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-15T13:37:21-06:00

ID

117175

Comment

I would also add: "greed."

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-15T13:41:50-06:00

ID

117176

Comment

People want to be informed, as long as the information confirms already existing personal biases and/or doesn't force them to think too hard. A lot of us want to be entertained even more. Hence we get infotainment that confirms our biases. It's as if its more important to have fun and entertainment than anything else. Being properly informed, as we all know (sneer), is about being dry, turgid, and drowning your audience in 5-syllable words of Greek or Latin orgin

Author

Philip

Date

2008-02-15T14:04:17-06:00

ID

117177

Comment

I was reading this crazy conspiracy theory blog the other day (conspiracy theories are my "new thing") but one of the essays on the blog actually made a lot of sense-fundamentally. She started out sounding really intelligent and then went into this crazy Russian/Chinese thing that was a little off base...But, its premise was basically that "Americans don't like to think a lot". Now, where the writer went with the story was a little batsh1t crazy. But, she made a good fundamental point...we DO NOT like to think a lot. It hurts. Its hard. And, it really interrupts Deal Or No Deal. But, conspiracy theories aside, the government knows what they are doing with us. We are much like ADHD children. They could burn the house down and we wouldn't notice as long as they tossed Pamela Anderson's t1ts in front of our faces six times a day. Critical thinking skills are not something greatly revered in our society.

Author

Lori G

Date

2008-02-15T22:42:24-06:00

ID

117178

Comment

I have a master's degree. I'm a Ph.D. student. I've written or co-written 23 books. And I still have no idea what the heck an intellectual is, and am not sure how important it is to find Middle Eastern countries on a map. It's not as if we're ever going to have to self-pilot prop planes over there and locate them manually.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-02-15T23:21:31-06:00

ID

117179

Comment

I think it is fair to point much of the blame on our educational system. They are more interested in teaching the children to regurgitate answers for standardized tests over actual learning. Just passing children to pass them on to the next grade has been in force for one generation now, and we are seeing the results. And, it is time we stopped some parents from using the school system as babysitter over teachers of life and learning. The parents are as much to blame if a school is Level 1 or 5 as are the teachers. Who created this "level" system anyway? Probably someone whose time would have been better spent teaching children over developing more red-tape for the rest of the teachers. If there is one teacher for every 25 children, I wonder how many "Administrators" there are for each teacher?

Author

pikersam

Date

2008-02-16T11:30:33-06:00

ID

117180

Comment

It's worth quoting how Jacoby became inspired to write the book, if only for the chuckles. Note that the men here are professionals in New York, where people supposedly pass their time by trading quips about postmodernism. This happened just after 9/11: Walking home to her Upper East Side apartment, she said, overwhelmed and confused, she stopped at a bar. As she sipped her bloody mary, she quietly listened to two men, neatly dressed in suits. For a second she thought they were going to compare that day’s horrifying attack to the Japanese bombing in 1941 that blew America into World War II: “This is just like Pearl Harbor,” one of the men said. The other asked, “What is Pearl Harbor?” “That was when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War,” the first man replied. At that moment, Ms. Jacoby said, “I decided to write this book.”

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2008-02-16T12:33:48-06:00

ID

117181

Comment

"Intellectual": It's much easier to tell what isn't than what is. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-16T23:11:08-06:00

ID

117182

Comment

I've considered the U.S. to be the stupidest country on the planet, when you consider the vast amount of information that is readily accessible to gather and yet, people don't use it to their advantage. I came to this conclusion during the run-up to the war in Iraq, especially after the French refused to support us and our so-called "leaders" wanted us to change the name of "French" terms like french fries, french toast to freedom fries and freedom toast, though none of these items are French-oriented. There was even a call to boycott French's Mustard, and that's made by an American company in New York State! Also, people were so ignorant about why we were going to war and just accepted what our government said. They were led to their beliefs by a media that refused to question or refute all reasons for going to war. Which is why I didn't listen to, read or watch much American media during this time, as I relied mostly on international media for my information. We live in such a microwave society as Americans are always on the run and don't often have the time to keep up with what's going on in the world. That's understandable, but we can't use 30-second sound bites and what was regurgitated on right-wing talk show after right-wing talk radio show for the sole reason for information.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-02-16T23:54:59-06:00

ID

117183

Comment

the government knows what they are doing with us. We are much like ADHD children. They could burn the house down and we wouldn't notice as long as they tossed Pamela Anderson's t1ts in front of our faces six times a day. And that's another thing: our media has become so tabloid, why bother buying the National Enquirer. Just put up the latest Britney Spears meltdown or the latest missing young pretty white girl and nothing else matters. Where is the Don Henley song "Dirty Laundry" when you need it?

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-02-16T23:59:03-06:00

ID

117184

Comment

"Intellectual": It's much easier to tell what isn't than what is. This is SO very true . . . Indeed, we can all think of candidates for the picture in the dictionary for "not intellectual" . . .

Author

GenShermansGhost

Date

2008-02-17T23:38:54-06:00

ID

117185

Comment

I'm an info junkie. I love knowledge. I'm also fascinated by pop culture and fashion. The best of both worlds? (big toothy grin)

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-02-19T20:14:44-06:00

ID

117186

Comment

Me, too. I like the hard stuff and the soft stuff. I, however, have no need for tabloid stories about broken celebrities in my life. I feel very sorry for Britney and anyone else hounded by the media. Even on this level, I know how it feels to have bald-faced lies told about you (there are some about us right now on The Clarion-Ledger Web site, for instance) just because people are obsessed with you. And the more you ignore their efforts to get your attention anytime they want it, the more vicious the lies get. I truly cannot imagine the hell of having the tabloids and paparazzi obsessed with you.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-02-19T20:25:36-06:00

ID

117187

Comment

I truly cannot imagine the hell of having the tabloids and paparazzi obsessed with you. That's why I don't read rag mags like the Enquirer. They either lie or exaggerate, and I find it sickening. The worst of all has to be Weekly World News. They don't have the printed edition any more, but they're still online. I wonder how many alien babies they discovered this week. :-P

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-02-19T20:59:17-06:00

ID

117188

Comment

As I mentioned earlier, our media is getting way too tabloid. Why do I need to know what club Paris Hilton got drunk at last night? It's just one of those things to keep us dumb and uninformed.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-02-19T21:09:53-06:00