Originally posted by: Rainsford
Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: Rainsford
Originally posted by: loki8481
Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Oh no, the empty suit monkey is also an intellectual. I guess when he gets to be as worthless as Bush, he will pass America's test and be eligible to win.
the political problem is that intellectualism can come off as a mix of condescension and blowing smoke up people's asses.
(not that the second coming of Jesus cares about such petty concerns like "getting elected," he's obviously above that tripe and is busy with the salvation of humanity)
I think intellectualism only looks like that to people who adopt the sour grapes attitude because they weren't the smartest kid in the class. Intelligence is, unfortunately, something you either have or you don't...and I think the people who don't have it are pretty easy to get on board with the idea that intellectualism is the same thing as elitism. Republicans mock intellect because they get a lot of mileage of out doing so, and they get mileage out of it because you gain a lot of favor with the average person telling them that not being smart makes them better people.
Personally I find the claims of pragmatism and reason coming from some conservatives to be pretty suspect when coupled with anti-intellectualism. You can be one or the other, but you can't be both.
Dont be naive, democrats do the same thing. Except instead of calling the target class intellects they call them the rich.
Intellect and Wealth are 2 quite different things.
Lots of dumbass self made millionairs out there?
If you bring in trust fund babies Ill smack you. Lots more people make their wealth and money than recieve it through inheritance.
I agree. And for what it's worth, I think most rich people worked incredibly hard to get there (Paris Hilton notwithstanding) and dismissing them all as a bunch of dilettantes who fell into money is pretty silly. The only reason I support progressive taxation is that's the only way things are going to work, but I don't think we need to punish or demonize the rich.
It's actually pretty interesting, these two issues are really the same thing. Our country has, for some reason, entered a phase where accomplishment is not what it used to be. Everybody wants a flat social structure, where everyone is just as good as everyone else and that the opinion of the random guy on the street is just as valuable as the opinion of the world class expert. Which is fine, I'm all for equality, except that along the way we forgot that some differences are based on actual qualifications, and wishing those qualifications away doesn't change reality. Now that isn't always the case, some "intellectuals" really are just elitist without much reason to be, and some rich folks deserve it less than the single mom working a low paying job. But I don't think we should delude ourselves into thinking that's always the way it is.