Changing times for the anti-intellectualism of the US? Let's hope so...
Click here for the whole NY Times article.
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Obama and the War on Brains
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: November 9, 2008
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.
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 ofAmericans believe that the sun orbits the Earth.
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1 comment:
A change? Yes, of course! I am certainly glad he beat the opposition and am in awe of the historic importance of his election. But is Obama really an intellectual? He certainly has the education, but, really, he seems like just another conventional centrist Democrat. Democrats are corporate-controlled, same as the Republicans. They want to bailout irresponsible auto manufacturers and banks (many of who are great donors). Look at the transportation industry: number 4: Obama!
http://tinyurl.com/66ojj9
Commercial banks, number 1: Obama!
http://tinyurl.com/5mcw2a
Change? I don't know.
I wish I could make a big financial mistake, and then get paid for it! But I really am saddened at the fact that the system tells us we have to be happy with one of two choices. A complex society such as the United States needs a more equitable form of representation.
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