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8/13/2019 The Culture of Distraction - Why Knowledge and Logic
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Why Knowledge and Logic Are Political
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By MICHIKO KAKTA!IP"#lished$ Mar%h &&' ())*
There are +ew s"#,e%ts ore tiely than the one ta%kled #y S"san
.a%o#yin her new #ook'/The Age o+ Aeri%an nreason'0 in whi%h she
asserts that /Aeri%a is now ill with a1ower+"l "tant strain o+
intertwined ignoran%e' anti-rationalis and
anti-intelle%t"alis20
Chris 3aire4
S"san .a%o#y
THE AGE OF AMERIA! "!REA#O!
By S"san .a%o#y
567 1ages2 Pantheon Books2 8(72
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/books/11kaku.html?_r=1&pagewanted=printhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/books/11kaku.html?_r=1&http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/michiko_kakutani/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/susan_jacoby/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/books&pos=Frame4A&sn2=29174d16/77d618f7&sn1=b9d1b336/66111484&camp=FOX_SEARCHLIGHT_ATJD13-1849323A-nyt5&ad=BN_NYT120x60_NowPlaying.gif&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efoxsearchlight%2Ecom%2Fblacknativity%2Fhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/books/11kaku.html?_r=1&pagewanted=printhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/books/11kaku.html?_r=1&http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/michiko_kakutani/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/susan_jacoby/index.html?inline=nyt-per
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Related
D$%& and D$%&er' Are A%ericans Hostile to
Knowledge()Fe&r$ary *+, -../0
Ti%es To1ics' #$san 2aco&y
An E9%er1t +ro :The Age o+ Aeri%an nreason
;or ore than a de%ade there have #een growing sy1tos o+ this
a++li%tion' +ro+"ndaentalist assa"lts on the tea%hing o+ evol"tion
to the B"sh adinistrationeven tho"gh neo-%onservative intelle%t"als
1layed a +orative role inaking the %ase +or war against Ira=?@
1oli%y 1ositions tend to get less attention than
1ersonality and ta%ti%s in the %"rrent 1residential %a1aign@ and
the deo%rati4ingin+l"en%e o+ the Internet is working to #anish
e91ertise altogether' aking everyone ana"thority on everything2
Traditional 1oli%y %hannels involving %are+"l analysis and
de#atehave #een %ir%"vented #y the B"sh hite Ho"se in +avor o+
#old' g"t-level %alls' andreasoned 1"#li% dis%"ssions have
in%reasingly given way to noisy 1artisan war+are aong1oliti%ians'
%oentators and #loggers alike2
Meanwhile' st"dies show that Aeri%an st"dents are +alling #ehind
st"dents +ro otherdevelo1ed %o"ntries in s%ien%e and ath' and that
ignoran%e o+ #asi% %ivi%s %lass+"ndaentals' not to ention #asi%
li#eral arts %on%e1ts' is wides1read2 Ms2 .a%o#y notesthat
two-thirds o+ Aeri%ans %annot nae the three #ran%hes o+ governent
or %oe "1
with the nae o+ a single S"1ree Co"rt,"sti%e2 She %ites one
s"rvey +inding thatAeri%an &6-year-olds rank (th o"t o+ those
+ro ( %o"ntries in atheati%al litera%y'and another indi%ating that
only 6D 1er%ent o+ ad"lt Aeri%ans had read a non+i%tion #ookin a
year2
In /Aeri%an nreason0 Ms2 .a%o#y' the a"thor o+ earlier #ooks
like /;reethinkers$ AHistory o+ Aeri%an Se%"laris'0 1ro1oses to
anatoi4e this disaying 1henoenon'while sit"ating it in histori%al
%onte9t2 Her #ook is sart' well resear%hed and +re="ently%ogent
1arti%"larly in looking at the %a"ses o+ Aeri%an
anti-intelle%t"alis' 1ast and1resent #"t ,"st as o+ten the aterial
is overly +ailiar' #landly re1rising arg"entsade #y 3i%hard
Ho+stadter in /Anti-Intelle%t"alis in Aeri%an Li+e'0 #y !eil
Postan
in /A"sing O"rselves to Feath'0 and other' ore re%ent st"dies'
while +ailing to 1"ll theseo#servations together into a %oherent'
new arg"ent2
Al Gore
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oralisti% at ties' ass"ing the very tone that anti-intelle%t"als
1oint to when 1"ttingdown intelle%t"al elitists2
As Ms2 .a%o#y sees it' there are several key reasons +or /the
res"rgent Aeri%an anti-intelle%t"alis o+ the 1ast () years20 To
#egin with' television' video gaes and the
Internet have %reated a /%"lt"re o+ distra%tion0 that has
shortened attention s1ans and le+t1eo1le with /less tie and desire0
+or /two h"an a%tivities %riti%al to a +r"it+"l anddeanding
intelle%t"al li+e$ reading and %onversation20
The e%li1se o+ 1rint %"lt"re #y video %"lt"re #egan in the
&7)s' Ms2 .a%o#y arg"es' addingthat the as%endan%e o+ yo"th
%"lt"re in that de%ade also 1rooted an attit"de denigratingthe
i1ortan%e o+ tradition' history and knowledge2
By the
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The ignoran%e res"lting +ro the a#sen%e o+ national ed"%ation
standards' %o#ined withthe res"rgent anti-intelle%t"alis now a#road
in the land' Ms2 .a%o#y %on%l"des in this"se+"l i+ less than
ele%tri+ying vol"e' is dangero"s +or any %o"ntry' #"t
es1e%iallydangero"s +or a deo%ra%y2 As Thoas .e++ersonon%e wrote'
/I+ a nation e91e%ts to #eignorant and +ree' in a state o+
%ivili4ation' it e91e%ts what never was and never will #e20
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/thomas_jefferson/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/thomas_jefferson/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/thomas_jefferson/index.html?inline=nyt-per
