The Culture of Distraction - Why Knowledge and Logic Are Political Dirty Words

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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