Geee Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 TownHall:A friend of mine hands me what looks like a business card. It says, "Don't Die Stupid." As America begins another round of voting to select the next president, or retain the current one, what we need is a stupid test. Flunk it and you shouldn't vote.Evidence of the dumbing-down of America is everywhere. Some of it is chronicled in a new book, "Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America" by Daniel J. Flynn.Flynn contends popular culture has divorced itself from the life of the mind. He has plenty of examples in case television, texting, video games and improper use of English ("she was like and then I was like") are not enough.Flynn calls the digital age that has sped up the process by which we receive information "Idiotville," because it has made us less intelligent."Stupid is the new smart," writes Flynn. He says we arrived at this lower level of brain activity because as recently as the last century "the everyman aspired to high culture and ... intellectuals descended from the ivory tower to speak to the everyman." Today, he says, "Those who pursue the life of the mind have insulated themselves from popular culture. Speaking in insider jargon and writing unread books, intellectuals have locked themselves away in a ghetto of their own creation."That has left the nonintellectual class to fend for itself. One library in Portland, Me., rather than leading, is being led by the unformed teenage mind. "Video gaming is just a new form of literacy," says the "teen librarian." If so, what's the new form of illiteracy, ignorance about how to use a joystick?Flynn quotes from Steven Johnson's book, "Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter." Sure, and sugar makes us slimmer. Johnson says, "Reality shows ... challenge our emotional intelligence." Emotional intelligence? In an age when feelings trump everything and too many reality TV programs feature well-heeled housewives and love-starved bachelors, "emotional intelligence" is a contradiction."A mind is a terrible thing to waste" is the slogan of the United Negro College Fund. It certainly is.Here's a potent example of what Flynn means when he writes about the destruction of our minds: "At the Tony Cushing Academy in western Massachusetts, $40,000 in tuition doesn't even get you a library anymore. 'When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,' the prep school's headmaster notes, adding, 'This isn't 'Fahrenheit 451.'' " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 One of the wonderful things about the Web is today you can watch all these seminars, panels speechs that just 10-15 years ago were not really available to those of us in fly over land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickydog Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. My head is swelling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. Like This? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrWoodchuck Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. My head is swelling! Oh No's! Remember I.C.E = Ice, Compression, Elevation, Valin. Throw ice in a glass, compress 2 ounces of 100proof refined ethanol in glass with ice.......and elevate to lips. Repeat as neceaary, until head swelling goes down, or unconsciousness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. My head is swelling! Oh No's! Remember I.C.E = Ice, Compression, Elevation, Valin. Throw ice in a glass, compress 2 ounces of 100proof refined ethanol in glass with ice.......and elevate to lips. Repeat as neceaary, until head swelling goes down, or unconsciousness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickydog Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 And then we have a guy like Valin to bring these things to the attention of the rest of us who have no clue (well, at least I don't) where to go to hear these interviews, etc. Like This? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now