Well, it is a world of alternate facts, after all. Everybody’s opinion is equally valid and screw reality.
And we wonder why the timeshare industry remains profitable…
[Bolding mine]
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’
- Isaac Asimov, Newsweek, 21 January 1980
Excellent quote @Johnny_L.A
Forty-six years, and it still applies.
I sought out and bought the magazine last year. One of these days I’ll get a better scan.
It goes back a lot farther than that.
[Note: AI research content]
Anti-intellectualism in America is a deeply rooted, recurring skepticism of expertise, academic elites, and specialized knowledge, often favoring “common sense” and practical experience
. Traced by historian Richard Hofstadter to early evangelical Protestantism and democratic populism, it has manifested through historical distrust of science (evolution), religious literalism, and McCarthyism, impacting U.S. politics, education, and culture for centuries.
Key Historical Themes and Eras
- Colonial Roots & Evangelicalism: Early American anti-intellectualism was tied to religious fervor, where “book learning” was sometimes seen as detrimental to spiritual faith. Puritans like John Cotton warned that excessive wit could serve Satan, prioritizing devoutness over academic pursuits
…
From quote in preceeding post.
I’m sure Satan would be all the more pleased with that idea now, with this execrable wave of Christian Nationalism becoming an ever-increasing threat to the idea of separation of the church and state.
He’s still breathing my fucking air and nobody’s successfully done anything to stop it.
Business school can be hard… here’s a chart to assist you in recalling what the fancier lingo means
Yes, but the “46 years” was about the Asimov quote, not the anti-intellectualism to which it refers. You and Isaac are both right: sadly, it goes way, way back.
Carry on…
As I have mentioned before on this site, I do volunteer tax preparation for low- and low-middle income folks. Today I prepared a return for a woman who gave birth to her son last September. The fact that he was born in 2025 triggered the form to enter information for his new savings account, of which the first $1,000.00 is funded by the government.
Of course, within the software, it’s called a Trump Account. And that’s how it will be printed when we review the return with the taxpayer: Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s).
Damn him, once again.
If he can’t steal it from them, he will say he gave it to them. Yawn. Sam shit different day.
So the felon has moved on from raping little girls to straight up murdering them?
So proud to be an American.
Trump claims “thousands” of Iranian regime guards and police have called him and asked for immunity and that he would give them “full immunity” if they surrendered.
Are these thousands of calls direct or through the Mardi-Lardo switchboard?
And how many of them were video calls, so that he could see the tears in their eyes as they called him “sir”?
Our president surely has chosen the most stupid defense secretary. Hegseth told the press today that the war with Iran will not be a long war. I’ll tell ya Pete - attacking Iran is deeper than any other mud hole in which I’ve ever stepped. Being optimistic won’t change that.
The Walking Pimple speculates otherwise.
edit: I guess depending on what a long war is. Four weeks of strikes on Iran is long enough as far as I’m concerned.
My prediction: a LOT longer than four weeks.
I don’t like that any better than you do. I’m not gloating. I’m being pessimistic. Or possibly realistic.
Hmmm…
I read a lot of novels set before, during, and after WWI. It started in July, 1914, and EVERYONE believed it would be over by Christmas of that year. Yup.
Oh no, It won’t be long at all. We’ll simply withdraw in a couple of weeks and be completely surprised when the shite equivalent of ISIS steps in.