Why Do We Hate Smart People?

I think we need to reflect on why America hates intellectuals; more so now than ever before.  The first time I was aware of this uniquely American phenomenon was way back in the late 60's and early 70's when Spiro Agnew referred to the media as "elitists controlled by effete snobs (i.e. intellectuals)," referring to them also as "nattering nabobs of negativism." The trend continued to expand from there through Reagan, Clinton, Bush II to the present through whom Donald J. Trump has manifested its worst incarnation.

But, of course, it goes back farther than that; it's just that in the late 20th century till now it has become the dominating force behind all politics.  Today we could never elect a JFK or Jimmy Carter or FDR or Theodore, Roosevelt, or Abraham Lincoln.  No, they just wouldn't be flashy or "charismatic" (i.e. celebrity) enough to command the majority of America's electorate.  You see, in our present society we don't want to learn:  not just about politics, but ANYTHING that requires deliberation — thoughtful, introspective, cognitive thought.  The vast majority of Americans are an intellectually slothful lot.  I constantly hear the pundits on shows on MSNBC, CNN, PBS talk about how Americans don't follow this stuff (issues of the day) and are too wrapped up in their everyday lives to concern themselves with the matters in Washington.  That's bunk.  If you can read, if you can watch television, if you can hear the radio, if you are in anyway exposed to social media (the worst source of information), i.e., if you can, in any fashion, be exposed to the news, you can take a few minutes out of your day and learn about the people in Washington — whose decisions affect your life — are doing with your tax dollars, then you have no excuse.  Being informed is a civic duty.  Educating one's self as to political matters is vital to choosing good people to represent you.

Yet, the American electorate are pathetically ignorant of what their congresspersons and senators are doing on any issue, whether it's taxes, voting rights, reproductive rights, racism, foreign affairs, immigration, global warming, you name it; most Americans are profoundly ignorant.  One of the late night talk show hosts — Kimmel or Fallon — for awhile, would have these "man/woman on the street"  segments asking questions such as:  "Are you in favour of Obamacare?" to which (at the time a few years ago) most said they were against it.  Then, when asked if in favour of the Affordable Care Act they would be almost unanimous their approval! 10% of COLLEGE GRADS think Judge Judy is a member of the Supreme Court! Of course there were even worse examples such as not knowing who their senator (much less congressperson) was, or who was FDR.  I no longer watch late night TV since I have to get up at 5:10 a.m. during the week; but, it's just as well; because, I simply can't stand the embarrassment of how what is supposed to be the world's greatest democracy can be purportedly governed by such a mass of stupidity.  All I used to say to myself when I witnessed these farces was: "and these people vote?"  Fortunately, not many of them probably do, since... well, they can't be bothered or some other lame excuse.

Hence, Donald J. Trump.  HEY, BUT WAIT!  Didn't we elect Barack Obama?  Yeah, so? My point exactly.  Let's face it, as good as a lot of Democrats think he was — now — he was, for the most part (granted with the one substantial passage of the ACA) a pretty ineffectual president when it came to legislation and foreign affairs (remember the Red Line?).  Nevertheless, that doesn't really matter simply because he was a good president elected for all the wrong reasons:  Celebrity.  Celebrity is the primary means of getting elected.  Americans only vote for those they know through the celebrity sausage machine.  Barack Obama was elected because he was young, black and insouciant.  It was those qualities, plus the critical prerequisite endorsement of EFK and the rest of the clan, which first got him nominated and then elected.  His election had little to do with any policies which he never fully articulated during the campaign; it was all personality.  No different than Trump. And that's the problem. Democrats are looking for some one more dynamic, and at the same time familiar, to go up against Trump, who has managed to exploit the gullibility of the simpleminded of our society, who are currently at least 30-40% of the electorate, and hold an inordinate influence on our elections by means of the antiquated, corrupt, and now vulnerable electoral college system.

All this is a result of our dismal public education system which is funded, and therefore highly politicised, through the individual state/commonwealth governments, primarily by means of property taxes.  State and local governments are notoriously corrupt.  What I mean by corrupt is that the influence of money is is greater than it is in the federal government by the simple fact that the influencers don't need to spend as much as they need to at the federal level (This DOES NOT preclude the big money influence in D. C.  It's just easier at the state and local level!).  As a result, we have this system in which those who have money, and therefore, own (and can mostly afford) more highly taxed property get the better schools; whereas, those who own low end property, or can't afford to own property (rent) pay little or no taxes and therefore get the crumby schools.  Since most people don't have a lot of money or own high end property, it's most children who end up with the lower quality education.  The end result is an electorate who not only don't know anything outside their own sphere of experience, but simply don't care or realise their fiduciary responsibilities as citizens of a democratic society.  

A democratic society is dependent on an educated, critical thinking electorate:  something which America severely lacks, and has lacked for most of its existence.  The difference is with the current availability of knowledge accessibility, there simply is no excuse for the United States to regress from whence it has evolved because we, as a nation, refuse to treat learning and intellectual pursuit as a societal priority.

As the French philosopher Joseph de Maistre said:  "Every country gets the government it deserves."