The War on Intellectualism

One of the most disturbing thing about fundamentalism and today's Republican Party - especially as embodied by Sarah Palin - is that it revels in ignorance and seeks to belittle and tear down knowledge and intellect whenever and wherever possible. Why? Because only the ignorant and non-thinking will regularly succumb to the Christianist/GOP drivel and slogans. It's a theme that I have touched on many times before when describing the anti-knowledge agenda of the Christian Right and its allies. My blogger friend, Waymon Hudson (pictured at left) at Billerico Project has a post that is very much on target concerning this phenomenon and in keeping with my own views. Here are some highlights:

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We have heard the some of the buzzwords of this political season- Folksy, Joe Six-pack, Elitist, and Arugula Eating. It seems the new "culture war" or wedge issue is intelligence. The Vice-Presidential debate only solidified the lines in this war. On one side, you had Palin- full of "folksy charm" and "you betcha" language. Then you had Biden, who had a command of the issues, but was called "boring" and (gasp!) "professorial" by the pundits.

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Is this the point we have come to in our country? Do we really think that having knowledge about an issue is a liability? Have we learned nothing from the past eight years about voting for the person you "want to have a beer with"? Is being smart or intellectually curious a bad thing? It seems the war is on and the Republicans have launched another surge strategy.

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How is dumbing down our country a breath of fresh air? Lowering the discourse to these levels (Paris Hilton, hockey moms, and lipstick- oh my!) has been staggering and disheartening to watch. The war has not only been waged by promoting the "Joe Six-pack" quality (a term that makes my skin crawl and sounds incredibly offensive) of McCain and Palin, however. They GOP has taken to throwing around charges of elitism, arugula eating, latte and martini drinking to show how Obama and Biden - and by extension all Democrats- are "out of touch" with "real" Americans.

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How did we get here? I certainly don't want just any old Average Joe to lead our country. I want someone who knows facts and issues. And if they don't know something, I want someone with the intellectual curiosity to learn and find out! Pick up a newspaper, get online, and surround yourself with other intelligent people. Yet McCain can't use the internet and Palin can't name a paper she reads. Where is the intellectualism to be a true leader in this time of trouble in our country?

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I don't care if politicians don't seem "fun" or "folksy"- I don't want to have a beer with them. I want them to lead. "Going with your gut" is not a viable option for this level of leadership. Quick sound bites or catch phrases don't make you a good leader. I don't care if you can hunt, were in the PTA, or wink at me - I want you to be educated about the issues facing our country.

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Again, I believe much of the phenomenon that Waymon complains of stems directly from the mind numbing zealotry of the Christianist base of the GOP. These people find glory in their ignorance and hold a truly wretched view of humanity. As Bob Felton at Civil Commotion, their religion is one that debases what it means to be human and dispises intellect:

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Fundamentalism is so garishly dishonest that it can be difficult to accept how sick and decadent it really is. The religion of love-love-love teaches that all men are born depraved and deserving of death; ‘family values’ demands that the wishes of your Invisible Friend come ahead of your family’s needs; ‘dignity’ is a life spent on your knees, trembling; it claims to cherish life, but teaches that your life is not your own and that the grave is the gateway to joy. It does, indeed, poison everyone it touches.