The Age Of American Unreason
Are Americans getting dumber? (Disclaimer: the book just came out and I've not read it, but I did see an interview with the author, intellectual historian Susan Jacoby, who stated that many younger Americans even take a certain pride in their ignorance. The Today show threw out the question: do we agree?...and you know I had to answer...)

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A resounding "YES!"
And I agree with the historian - many younger Americans seem proud of it. Intelligence is what you need if you're too poor, unglamorous and unknown enough a geek, but still want some form of success. Until you gain that success, you're just a nerdy loser. Miss South Carolina like, totally agrees with me.

My daughter told me just the other day that she was called a "geek" no less than seven times by seven fans throughout a regular school day last Tuesday for knowing all the answers to her teacher's questions in biology class (she's in middle school...that modern variant of the Roman Coliseum). When her response to one taunter included the word "accusations", unbelievably, inexplicably, the taunter chided her further for using "some word nobody's ever heard of" in a sentence. Oi.

In a country in which vacuousness on a scale of Paris Hilton is idolized...and let's face it, she can afford any-and-everything she wants, so who needs, to...like...know anything anyway, I mean...really...that's soooo not hot.
If she wants an informed opinion, she can buy one.

I think what some of the younger generation never bothered to discover is that well-read persons have a broader ability to reason and employ logic, they tend towards greater empathy and compassion, and they generally are more socially aware and even driven.
They typically have a better developed sense of humor and can more precisely say what they mean - which, anyone who has ever struggled to find the right word to describe a moment of epiphany knows, can be a release and a satisfaction. They can hold a conversation beyond, "Like...like...I mean...soooo...like...".
They can confuse to the point of befuddlement and thereby allay unwanted questioning.

They're also far less likely to be led around by the nose ring.

You can't compare savvy and smart. That's like comparing paste to diamonds...sure, they may look passable on the surface at first...but we all know what happens to paste past its prime.

Learn more about this author, A. Elizabeth Brown.
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