I generally do not agree with Nicholas Kristof on too many things, but in his column in the New York Times he focuses on what I hope will be a significant change ushered in by the Obama administration: an end to the embrace of ignorance and close mindedness that has been a hallmark of the Chimperator's regime and a central theme of today's Republican Party where a lobotomy is a prerequisite to belonging to the party. Sarah Palin and her Bible thumping, creationism loving followers being Exhibit #1 of how low the GOP has fallen intellectually. In my view, there is no way for the USA to overcome its huge problems if the mindset of a 5th grader continues to be held up as the standard of knowledge and excellence. Science, medical knowledge and advance thought must be embraced. Here are some column highlights:*
Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual. . . . Maybe, just maybe, the result will be a step away from the anti-intellectualism that has long been a strain in American life. Smart and educated leadership is no panacea, but we’ve seen recently that the converse — a White House that scorns expertise and shrugs at nuance — doesn’t get very far either.
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We can’t solve our educational challenges when, according to polls, Americans are approximately as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution, and when one-fifth of Americans believe that the sun orbits the Earth.
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Perhaps John Kennedy was the last president who was unapologetic about his intellect and about luring the best minds to his cabinet. . . . . As for President Bush, he adopted anti-intellectualism as administration policy, repeatedly rejecting expertise (from Middle East experts, climate scientists and reproductive health specialists).
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An intellectual is a person interested in ideas and comfortable with complexity. Intellectuals read the classics, even when no one is looking, because they appreciate the lessons of Sophocles and Shakespeare that the world abounds in uncertainties and contradictions, and — President Bush, lend me your ears — that leaders self-destruct when they become too rigid and too intoxicated with the fumes of moral clarity.
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[A]s Mr. Obama goes to Washington, I’m hopeful that his fertile mind will set a new tone for our country. Maybe someday soon our leaders no longer will have to shuffle in shame when they’re caught with brains in their heads.
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