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The country where learning is a grave political disadvantage

I read an interesting rant this morning that got me thinking. I often read that Americans pride themselves for being doers rather than thinkers, and that Pragmatism is related to that. Now, is this Pragmatism part of reason why there's this rampant wave of anti-intellectualism in the US?

.just curious..

ps.: Keep in mind that I admire American thinking quite a lot, so this far from being a criticism.

define american thinking?

*wait, imma get ma cheeseburger*

to me it seems like the least intellectual people i have met in the us have also tended to be the laziest. Then again this was mostly in Florida and nothing makes sense there...it harbors some of the absolute thickest people on earth.

quote:

Originally posted by walcott define american thinking? *wait, imma get ma cheeseburger*

It's really difficult to talk about any kind of "national thinking", but there's this bundle of ideas that tend to be popular in a given country/region. Americans, as I see it, tend to be more practical in their thinking: if something is not useful, it's worthless. Europeans (which is a rough generalisation to make), on the other hand, tend to be more ethereal in their thinking - thoughts are good for their sheer value. Brazilian thought, finally, tends to value communitarianism quite a lot, so nothing is worth unless it's done for the common good.

This is really an inaccurate generalisation, but I think you get what I mean.

Americans pride themselves on lots of things.

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On Americans pride themselves on lots of things.

+1

cheeseburgers, this thread is now about cheeseburgers

quote:

Originally posted by Lira It's really difficult to talk about any kind of "national thinking", but there's this bundle of ideas that tend to be popular in a given country/region. Americans, as I see it, tend to be more practical in their thinking: if something is not useful, it's worthless. Europeans (which is a rough generalisation to make), on the other hand, tend to be more ethereal in their thinking - thoughts are good for their sheer value. Brazilian thought, finally, tends to value communitarianism quite a lot, so nothing is worth unless it's done for the common good. This is really an inaccurate generalisation, but I think you get what I mean.

If anything Americans are the kings of useless things, ie: stuff you want but do not need.

quote:

Originally posted by walcott cheeseburgers, this thread is now about cheeseburgers

In that case, can I has cheezburger?

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak If anything Americans are the kings of useless things, ie: stuff you want but do not need.

But don't these useless things aim to be practical?

The anti-intellectualism comes about because people in America associate "intellectuals" with physical and emotional weakness, impracticality, resentfulness of popularity and wealth, and other things that they see as detrimental to a satisfying life. Academics, often identified with "intellectualism," are supposed to be tittering, effeminate asthmatic types who hide in the stacks of libraries and look down on regular people.

This has been going on for a long time here, at least since the election contest between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams in 1824, when one of the slogans of Jackson's supporters was "Adams can write, but Jackson can fight."

People think that a cultivated, "bookish" mind is opposed to physical action and vigor -- and they prefer the latter, therefore they disdain the former.

quote:

Originally posted by elFreak to me it seems like the least intellectual people i have met in the us have also tended to be the laziest. Then again this was mostly in Florida and nothing makes sense there...it harbors some of the absolute thickest people on earth.

i'm from florida. and i'm not thick, i'm only 120 pounds...

It has much less to do with pragmatism than it has to do with the fact that early education in the United States lacks in comparison with other countries. It just trickles down from there.

For example, my 13 year-old little brother went overseas on a school trip recently, and all of the kids there were doing calculus in math class.

I mean, when's the last time you met a Japanese kid who sucked at math? And when's the last time you met a Japanese whore who couldn't suck a good dick? You know...just saying.

quote:

Originally posted by Lira But don't these useless things aim to be practical?

Gas guzzling SUV's and huge houses they can't afford do not seem practical. *disclaimer, i am not bashing the US here just bringing up a point.

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Originally posted by josh rising i'm from florida. and i'm not thick, i'm only 120 pounds...

yes you are.

quote:

Originally posted by Renzo It has much less to do with pragmatism than it has to do with the fact that early education in the United States lacks in comparison with other countries. It just trickles down from there. For example, my 13 year-old little brother went overseas on a school trip recently, and all of the kids there were doing calculus in math class. I mean, when's the last time you met a Japanese kid who sucked at math? And when's the last time you met a Japanese whore who couldn't suck a good dick? You know...just saying.

I would say that this has the largest effect on it all. We as a country don't seem to put very high value in education. We expect a great education without putting any money into it. People don't want to raise taxes, but they want all these awesome benefits as if they did.

They don't want to be Canada

Or it's because the United States chooses to spend all of it's money on military spending instead of education.

quote:

Originally posted by UWM Or it's because the United States chooses to spend all of it's money on military spending instead of education.

ding! ding! ding!

speaking of which Lira, has hardly been practical. Would you agree?

It's only $0.40 out of every tax dollar, man. Chill out.

Gesundheit, there's a Brian Peppers running amok in your avatar space.

The anti-intellectualism has been around a lot longer than the huge military budget. I think it's a cultural thing.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles The anti-intellectualism comes about because people in America associate "intellectuals" with physical and emotional weakness, impracticality, resentfulness of popularity and wealth, and other things that they see as detrimental to a satisfying life. Academics, often identified with "intellectualism," are supposed to be tittering, effeminate asthmatic types who hide in the stacks of libraries and look down on regular people. This has been going on for a long time here, at least since the election contest between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams in 1824, when one of the slogans of Jackson's supporters was "Adams can write, but Jackson can fight." People think that a cultivated, "bookish" mind is opposed to physical action and vigor -- and they prefer the latter, therefore they disdain the former.

Funny how I get that same impression from Hollywood films. I don't know how that compares to Brazil, though, because our former president is one of the world's leading sociologists (Fernando Henrique Cardoso) and the current president is... well, a union guy.

Still, it took this union guy a lot of work to convince the people he had a brain. Kinda ironic, if you think about it

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles The anti-intellectualism has been around a lot longer than the huge military budget. I think it's a cultural thing.

Sadly, you're right. Excessive military spending certainly exacerbates this, though.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles The anti-intellectualism has been around a lot longer than the huge military budget. I think it's a cultural thing.

which can probably be attributed to a large population living very far from cultural centers in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by UWM Or it's because the United States chooses to spend all of it's money on military spending instead of education.

That doesn't dictate what the states choose to do. The US is full of anti-tax idiots that think they can have their cake and eat it to. They want really good schools, but leave taxes at the same level and expect schools with ever increasing costs, to make up the difference. It just isn't happening.

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On Gesundheit, there's a Brian Peppers running amok in your avatar space.

LOL yeah. I am bored at work.

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