on Oct 3rd, 2008Smart people need not apply
Intellectual is a dirty word in 21st Century America. We’ve become a nation that not only discarded its respect for knowledge, we’ve gone from tolerating people who eschew it to rewarding them, sometimes handsomely. Mediocrity has become our norm, perhaps our ideal; erudition, once admired, is now derided as elite.
My mother kept every greeting card she ever got and we loved going through them. That’s how I know there was a line of cards in the late 50s and early 60s called Highbrow, a word not often heard today. They were tall and thin, witty and smart and probably a natural for an era when Pablo Casals performed at the White House. I thought about those cards in 1994, when I read these paragraphs by Roger Ebert, the only film critic to win a Pulitzer and a favorite essayist. He was reviewing Quiz Show, the outstanding movie about the game show scandals of the 1950s:
“Quiz Show” remembers it was also a decade when intellectuals were respected, when a man could be famous because he was a poet and a teacher, when TV audiences actually watched shows on which experts answered questions about Shakespeare and Dickens, science and history. All of that is gone now.
Now take stock of what we have lost in the four decades since “Twenty-One” came crashing down. We have lost a respect for intelligence; we reward people for whatever they happen to have learned, instead of feeling they might learn more. We have forgotten that the end does not justify the means - especially when the end is a high TV rating or any other kind of popular success. And we have lost a certain innocent idealism.
Charles Van Doren lied on a quiz show, and then the standards that created that quiz show went on to infect ever-widening circles, until Oliver North could lie to Congress, and then run for it.
And thank heaven he lost.
In the fourteen years since Ebert wrote that, we have slipped further, rewarding people for what they have not learned, whether it’s a president who ignores science and the world beyond our shores, a giggling cook on television who admits she lacks technique or a vice presidential candidate who can’t name one Supreme Court decision she disagrees with, beyond her litmus-test Roe v. Wade. Not even Exxon v. Baker, about which her office released a statement of disappointment just two months ago.
Partisan politics being what they are, she was given a pass on that and on her inability to name even a single newspaper she reads. In both cases, her demonstrated lack of knowledge and curiosity, which should have humiliated everyone around her, was airily dismissed by her party’s spin masters with variations on a theme: she was nervous, she just couldn’t think, everybody has a bad day.
Just how bad does a day have to be that someone can’t remember the name of a newspaper?
In a “debate” that was dumbed down for her benefit, she was allowed to refuse to answer the many questions for which she had no scripted and rehearsed answer. Her coquettish behavior, the winks and head-tosses suitable to the beauty pageant world from which she came, would be inconceivable by any of the 16 women in the US Senate.
I am reminded of something Van Doren, an erudite to be sure, said in the film version of his remarks of contrition to Congress but not found in the transcript: I’ve flown too high on borrowed wings.
Those Highbrow cards could have been called Egghead, another word popular back then. It was used to describe Adlai Stevenson, who possessed one of the keenest intellects of the 20th Century. He was a governor too, and the Democrats’ standard bearer in 1952 and 1956. A story, perhaps apocryphal, claims a supporter told him he was sure to “get the vote of every thinking man” in the country. Stevenson is said to have replied, “Thank you, but I need a majority to win.” He lost both times to the decidedly low-to-middlebrow war hero Dwight Eisenhower, who spent much of his two terms on the golf course and whose lasting gift to us was his vice president, Richard Nixon.
I don’t know Barack Obama’s opinion of Stevenson, a fellow Illinoisan, but I imagine Stevenson would have been gratified to see someone else who is unapologetically intelligent finally about to crack the glass ceiling of mediocrity. He might even have concluded there is hope for us yet.
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Royal icing & decorating
We saw much the same, and I objected to much of the same behaviors you did.
Well written, insightful, historically informative.
You get an “A” for intelligence and brevity.
An “F” for accessibility.
Word Bandit’s last blog post..And the Winner Is!
An F? O noes!
(or should that be a F?)
I’m happy to hear you appreciated this. It’s been festering in my mind for a long time, a couple years actually, and finally began to crystallize in the last week or so.
I must say, after her cringe-inducing behavior last night I would be opposed to her nomination even if I agreed with her; as a nation, I believe we deserve better and can do better. If it makes me elitist to expect someone who’s after the second-highest job in the land to be intelligent and worldly enough not to say “Eye-RACK” then I guess I’m guilty as charged.
Many thanks.
A “F.”
And I should not have ended my first sentence with “did.”
I was being accessible.
Word Bandit’s last blog post..And the Winner Is!
Saw you link this in the “What Did You Post In Your Blog Today?” thread and am sure glad that I clicked the link. Well written, concise (if at times a little wordy ;)), and those three paragraphs Ebert wrote (who I’m also a big fan of) were excellent.
In my opinion, Palin’s VP candidacy represents exactly what is wrong with American culture today, whether we’re talking about her or those stupid enough to fall for her charade. You were absolutely right.
leapsecond’s last blog post..The Economy Will Fall
Having been with the Republican party for 20 odd years (yes, I know, I know), I finally saw the light when we marched into Iraq oh so many moons ago. I saw many of my college educated friends defending ‘data’ and words (only costs $300 million! over in 6 months tops!) and not really bothering to do their homework beyond sound bites on TV. I suddendly became :shudder: A LIBERAL because I was against the war. Hmmm, seems to me the “Hawks of War” were the Dems in the late 50’s early 60’s, but who’s counting. Of course the final push came when I decided I could no longer support a party that would not grant civil rights to gays (let alone tolerate them), came dangerously close to inserting their religious beliefs in everything governmental and opposing stem cell research. I RAN to the Libertarian party. Although I am very liberal in my beliefs, I have always been a fiscal conservative and believe in personal responsibility over government involvement.
I am sick about what I’m seeing now. “God, Country and Guns” is winning over a huge section of the people, and they are actually standing behind a woman that is clearly not fit to be president. I laugh at our upstaters that hated Hillary so much, fall for this “beauty queen” because she holds a gun and doesn’t think women should be able to have an abortion. Fox news actually calls her father on the phone to see how he thinks his “Girl” is doing.
No one wants to think anymore. It’s easier to say “Evil Doers” and “Good Bad” rather than try to solve a complex problem. Listen to how many times John McCain says “fight” in his Republican convention speech. It’s “us” and “them”…”heaven” “Hell”..”On our side or against us”.
Instead of our nation moving to a more progressive European philosophy (or “evolving” in any way shape or form) there are scary repressive weenies hiding in the shadows waiting to snatch it all away.
God (or Goddess or whatever) help us all.
Kdmask’s last blog post..Next Week in a Wub-Shell!
I’m glad you clicked on over, leapsecond. She truly is an abomination and her nomination calls into question McCain’s judgement. Whether he chose her without vetting or because it was best politically and not necessarily best for the country, they are equally off-putting reasons.
I’m still rolling my eyes over her statement at the end of the debate that she’d like to do more without the filter of the MSM. There’s a simple way to do that. It’s called a news conference. If she thinks it would not be broadcast live, she’s living on a planet she can’t see from Alaska.
Thanks for stopping by!
kdmask - Thank you for those comments. I am right with you on soundbites and sloganeering replacing reading, research and thinking. We don’t benefit from that, none of us.
As for evolving, I don’t have a link handy to double-check this, but I think I have read the US is the last developed nation with such an emphasis on religion. I know first-hand few European Christians, of all denominations, go to church. It’s even true in Italy and even in Rome, where one might expect Catholic churches to be half-full.
When I lived in Manhattan, we considered ‘upstate’ to be anything north of Westchester! You’re close enough to New Hampshire to come check us out. Many, many people here describe themselves as fiscal conservatives but social liberals. Registered Independents (that includes me) are a huge part of the electorate. No state income tax and no sales tax. Of course, that means we homeowners have some of the highest property taxes in the country — way, way higher than Manhattan — but any politician who dares mention even the possibility of exploring a sales or income tax will be defeated faster than you can say Caribou Barbie. I know sales taxes are regressive, but I would support that. Everyone uses roads and benefits from snow removal and other municipal services, many have kids in school and all those are funded by homeowners only. (end of rant, sorry)
Now I’m going to hop over to your blog and check it out!
What a wonderfully written post. You’ve summed up something that’s been on my mind for a long time. This is all truly frightening to me. We’re not just ignorant, we’re defiantly ignorant, and I wonder exactly how we’ll survive as a nation when our flash over substance culture is put to the test.
How insane have we become that we’d entrust our country to a person of such limited credentials (or intellect)? You can almost hear McCain’s camp saying, “Let’s choose Sarah Palin– the American people are so shallow that they’ll just vote for her based on looks and personality.” Boy, have they got our number. I think you’re right. She’s the thirty-minute meals candidate.
I remember those Hi Brow greeting cards for some reason. I think the logo was a pair of gloved hands holding a pair of opera glasses. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but I can remember that. Go figure.
Excellent, excellent post.
MoonbeamMcQueen’s last blog post..Pangs n? Things
I agree, this is beautifully written, ella! You’ve articulated something that’s been simmering on the surface of my consciousness for a long time; thanks for bringing it to a rolling boil {Sorry, couldn’t resist the cooking metaphors.
)
Intelligence! A thinking (wo)man! How refreshing that could be!
I enjoyed reading the remarks about Stevenson; very telling. Thank you for this.
MusEditions’s last blog post..I answer questions; you look at pictures
moonbeam - Good to see you. I absolutely love your phrase “defiantly ignorant.” I recently read the phrase “willfully ignorant” to describe those who persist in claiming Obama is Muslim (as if that’s a pejorative, but to them it is) — I like yours better and just might borrow it.
Hi Brow - right! I originally had it as two words but it didn’t look right and it’s because I had the g and h. I tried to recall for sure what the logo was and have a mental image of a sketch of glasses, sort of hornrimmish and professorial. But now that you mention the opera glasses….
Thank you for the kind words.
And thank you too, muse. I’ve been thinking about this for ages; it’s been percolating and finally came together in a semi-coherent way.
Stevenson was fascinating. That whole period was fascinating. If you’ve never read Halberstam’s The Fifties, you might enjoy it. But Quiz Show first if you haven’t seen it. I’ve seen it more times than I’m willing to admit. Paul Scofield deserved that Oscar - he wuz robbed.
Cooking metaphors are always welcome here!
Ella…I have been to NH many times on the way to Maine. Where do you think we stop for our LIQUOR?? LOL…;) I actually registered Libertarian after researching all the parties. I was so for Ron Paul…now I might vote Barr, it all depends. My husband is British. We are both very “Progressive”. My brother is gay and I’ve become more militant than he about gay rights issues! (don’t mess with my BROTHER!!)
I also really, really cringe when they say “intellectual elites”…like it’s a POX or something.
PS. I live in the state with the highest taxes, EVER..our sales tax in our county is 8%%!! and we’re still in the hole. I have to say my TOWN is wonderful though, many parks, trails and also controlled building.
Kdmask’s last blog post..The Dante Question?
Yes, it’s a problem when we elect our leaders on the same criteria we use for deciding the outcome of American Idol.
This is something which threatens to engulf British politics as well.
Tony Blair had the gift of the gab and more than enough smarmcharm to win three elections but finally this led him to alienate the grass roots of his own party. By contrast, his successor Gordon Brown has about as much charisma as a brown paper bag.
Brown is so widely despised for appearing clueless that Conservative leader David Cameron is now apparently deliberate in not reveaing any policies - since these could alienate some voters. Instead he just stands there looking smooth and clean and smiling inaninities.
This makes him infinitely electable to the majoruty in a way that political principle and courage couldn’t match.
In the end, maybe that is the problem with democracy as seen by us intellectual liberals. Everyone gets to vote, including all those who aren’t really remotely qualified to do so.
It’s scary stuff, I tell ya. And meanwhile I’m voting for Simon Cowell as Prime Minister…
Roads’s last blog post..193. Through the Gherkin’s glass darkly - nightfall and fear in the City of London
I can’t fathom why you went to moderation, roads. Akismet has had a mind of its own lately.
But…American Idol indeed. It’s so much about popular appeal and few knew and exploited that as well as Bill Clinton. Everything in that administration was focus grouped. That’s not governing, that’s being led by pollsl. (Although if W had a little of that, we’d be out of Iraq by now.)
Brown is still an enigma to me and it sounds as if Cameron is wise to bide his time. But with the world economy as it is, is Britain ready for another round of Thatcherite cutting? It makes my hair hurt.
Thanks for your comments and perspective.
PS - I’ll vote for Cowell too. If he buys a sweater that fits.
kdmask - I forgot NH has low liquor prices! I don’t even drink wine anymore but I never had a taste for the hard stuff and only buy it for guests — I’m told I mix a lethal drink because I have no concept of how much is too much.
Oh, I know all about NY taxes. I moved here from Manhattan, higher than upstate, and while there’s a lot about NH I hate, it only took me about 2 purchases to get used to no sales tax. Even so, I would gladly support one.
I understand your dilemma about a candidate. I’ve been for Obama for ages but in years past I just had to hold my nose in the election booth and vote my conscience.
Thanks for coming by again — and send your brother a big hug from the Little Snowball!
@ Ella:
Hey, Palin reads all of the newspapers and magazines, so she must know what the media filter is like… Except she’d probably say, in her ignorance, that Fox News is part of the “liberal media”.
It’s been said before, but the Palin pick is the greatest act of political irresponsibility in a long time. John McCain should be ashamed of himself.
Yet, while Obama is a wonderful speaker and very, very intelligent (or seems to be, at least), I get the feeling that, if he were to be elected, he’d become an empty suit. On the other hand, I still hold out hope that he could be a Kennedy-esque president (minus the assassination part!).
leapsecond’s last blog post..Oh, and By the Way? Europe’s Hurting Too
Hi leapsecond - I can understand having doubts about Obama, athough I do not. Not only do I think he’s more intelligent and ethical than JFK was, nothing in his past suggests remotely to me that he would be an empty suit. He could have done it after getting into Columbia or Harvard or the Illinois legislature or the US Senate.
Totally agree about McCain and if he’s not regretting picking Caribou Barbie, then he’s in denial.
Ella: He doesn’t have to be in denial… He could be delusional in his old age and still think that it’s a good pick.
leapsecond’s last blog post..And the Bleeding Won’t Stop? Plus: Money as Debt
[…] Also riveting, a Washington Post story about Eugene Allen, the White House butler of 34 years, with final paragraphs that hit me like a canonball to the stomach. Today’s New York Times has a terrific op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristof called Obama and the War on Brains. It was especially interesting to me, given what I wrote last month in Smart People Need Not Apply. […]
ella ~
An excellent post, and very well written.
I was especially glad to see this put into words: “Mediocrity has become our norm, perhaps our ideal; erudition, once admired, is now derided as elite.”
If you would like to see yet another example of mediocrity (or worse) being promoted to the masses, I’m almost-ranting about it on my current post about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
I was a bit fearful of opening the proverbial can of worms, but I see I’m not alone in my concern about the dumbing-down of this nation. Besides, a can of worms still isn’t as bad as that can of mushroom soup! (I’m anxious to try the noodle/tuna/mushroom bit.)
Linda
shoreacres’s last blog post..No Mo? WriMo
Thank you, shore. I do hope having smart people in the White House again will change attitudes, but I’m still hearing denigrating remarks from wingnuts and probably always will.
I’ll check out that post. Here’s what bothers me. Back in the 80s, when word processors became popular, there was an explosion of people, which continues, who decided to write the Great American Novel. I can only surmise that once the drudgery of retyping pages to fix mistakes was eliminated, they were off, with no thought of whether the ms was saleable, except they assumed it was, or even any good. And many stop at nothing and spend oodles of money in their quest to be published. And here’s what I don’t understand:
Millions of people are happy to dabble in music, painting, photography — and cooking — without any concerns or conceits about turning pro. They are happy to do it, in and of itself. But for some reason, anyone with a keyboard thinks they can be a professional writer as long as they push those keys and make a lot of words. And they are bitterly disappointed to discover that’s not the case.