Anti-intellectualism
Cliff Bostock recently wrote an essay for Creative Loafing called, Derrida and Dubya: Anti-intellectualism in America. It was very interesting. Some of his points made me immediately think of the OTO though. I read:
The anti-intellectual typically exhibits little curiosity about other perspectives and no skepticism about his own positions. When confronted, the absence of curiosity is often filled by hostility.
...
What matters in the world of the anti-intellectual is that he can wrap himself in a blind ideology that lays claim to the absolute truth even when it is undermined by fact and causes needless suffering.
And lastly,
There have been few recent attempts to explain anti-intellectualism in America, probably because its mention immediately earns one characterization as an "elitist."
Don't we see this often on LJ topics about the OTO? People failing to look at situations, acting in denyal, responding with hostility? A recent example was the heated debate about class. The constant denyal that class has nothing to do with the OTO. Is this due to anti-intellectualism? Is this a case of "blind ideology that lays claim to the absolute truth even when it is undermined by fact"? What about the name calling of elitist that often gets thrown at keith418 and even me sometimes. Is it a demonstration of anti-intellectualism? It is interesting to look at don't you think?
The anti-intellectual typically exhibits little curiosity about other perspectives and no skepticism about his own positions. When confronted, the absence of curiosity is often filled by hostility.
...
What matters in the world of the anti-intellectual is that he can wrap himself in a blind ideology that lays claim to the absolute truth even when it is undermined by fact and causes needless suffering.
And lastly,
There have been few recent attempts to explain anti-intellectualism in America, probably because its mention immediately earns one characterization as an "elitist."
Don't we see this often on LJ topics about the OTO? People failing to look at situations, acting in denyal, responding with hostility? A recent example was the heated debate about class. The constant denyal that class has nothing to do with the OTO. Is this due to anti-intellectualism? Is this a case of "blind ideology that lays claim to the absolute truth even when it is undermined by fact"? What about the name calling of elitist that often gets thrown at keith418 and even me sometimes. Is it a demonstration of anti-intellectualism? It is interesting to look at don't you think?