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Something I have picked up on during the last week, on threads here and in RL, is the level of anti-intellectualism in this country.
That is to say, people that attack or victimise intellectuals. The reasons for this are curious, I would guess a degree of intimidation, not to mention this countries reputation for matter-of-fact pragmatism that seems to exclude higher, educational concerns. There is also the history of class conflict, the generally less educated working classes perhaps being resentful to those, even in their own ranks, who enter a life where they use their minds instead of traditional working class values of "sticking together" and not putting your head above the parapet.
In my own life I was bullied frequently at school for not being "one of the boys", so to speak. As a result, most of my friends, then and now, were female, where the situation was far better. Women tend ot accept me as an interesting person as opposed to someone who made sweet love to books every lunchtime.
As an adult, one still comes up against a brick wall when you try to be outwardly intellectual. Most people will say "I do not understand", or rather, won't want to understand for the sake of their pragmatic concerns. I have no problem with that, as long as they dont pick up on anything vaguely polysyllabic and proclaim that they are not intellectuals thereof. What is worse are the people that attack or criticise you for being intellectual, that laugh at you for being philosophical or political. That goes for liberals and conservatives alike.
Since this forum is very politically active, and taking a look at IQ threads many of us are above average, I suspect that many here have had similar experiences. How do we combat this unfortunate situation, since society needs intellectuals, people that know how to run a nation and the issues surrounding it, to change things, as well as making life a little more interesting than the daily drudgery that we see all around?
That is to say, people that attack or victimise intellectuals. The reasons for this are curious, I would guess a degree of intimidation, not to mention this countries reputation for matter-of-fact pragmatism that seems to exclude higher, educational concerns. There is also the history of class conflict, the generally less educated working classes perhaps being resentful to those, even in their own ranks, who enter a life where they use their minds instead of traditional working class values of "sticking together" and not putting your head above the parapet.
In my own life I was bullied frequently at school for not being "one of the boys", so to speak. As a result, most of my friends, then and now, were female, where the situation was far better. Women tend ot accept me as an interesting person as opposed to someone who made sweet love to books every lunchtime.
As an adult, one still comes up against a brick wall when you try to be outwardly intellectual. Most people will say "I do not understand", or rather, won't want to understand for the sake of their pragmatic concerns. I have no problem with that, as long as they dont pick up on anything vaguely polysyllabic and proclaim that they are not intellectuals thereof. What is worse are the people that attack or criticise you for being intellectual, that laugh at you for being philosophical or political. That goes for liberals and conservatives alike.
Since this forum is very politically active, and taking a look at IQ threads many of us are above average, I suspect that many here have had similar experiences. How do we combat this unfortunate situation, since society needs intellectuals, people that know how to run a nation and the issues surrounding it, to change things, as well as making life a little more interesting than the daily drudgery that we see all around?
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Poor opressed intellects
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