In line with the previous two posts, this one is inspired by NPR. A long-time Republican for Obama interviewed on some show or another (Forum, maybe? Talk of the Nation?) mused on the anti-intellectual sentiment in this country.
This reminds me of an old soviet joke that I'm going to attempt to poorly translate for you:
A packed bus. A thin man in black-rimmed glasses taps a big burly guy on the shoulder and says meekly, "Excuse me, sir, I was wondering if perhaps you'll be exiting at the next stop?"
The burly man looks at him and barks, "What, are you some kind of intellectual?"
"No no," the thin man throws up his arms defensively, "I'm a moron just like you!"
But look, in a communist country that lives by the credo that "every man is equal," I can see the rationale for this sentiment. Members of the Intelligencia think they're better than everyone else. Shit, who do they think they are?
In a free market economy such as ours, where our politicians not only don't think every human being is equal, but don't even believe that every human being deserves the same basic rights (to health care, for instance, or child care), where does the anti-intellectualism come from?
It's the opposite here -- the pinko-commie liberals seem to be the college-educated ones, the ones who value intellect... and the free-market assholes are the ones who frown on it. What sense does that make?
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