An Attack On Intellectualism

It's a frightening day when you realize that being intelligent and valuing an education has become a negative in the United States. It all began with Sarah Palin - 5 schools before a college degree and no postgraduate work, but if you said a word about it you were being "elitist" and "cruel," as if that was no to decide whether or not a person should be entrusted with the fate of the free world. I agree that it's not the only criteria, but what, exactly, is wrong with getting an education?

Now, once again, she's back on her high horse saying reporters "mistreated" her during the campaign. Recent quotes include such zingers as "The mama grizzly rises up in me, hearing things like that," whilst referring to recent criticism of her teenage daughter's pregnancy and subsequent marriage. While her kids are not necessary up for discussion, she is, and so should her intelligence. Now the media are elite for asking hard questions, Obama was elite for going to Harvard and the country is just full of "liberal elites." Replace elite with intelligent and you've got "the media are intelligent for asking hard questions, Obama was intelligent for going to Harvard and the country is just full of "liberal intelligent people." How terrible!

It's an attack on intellectualism, and it isn't the first time this has happened. Look back to Pol Pot's Cambodia, just to name one. Things are going downhill, those in need are vulnerable and all of a sudden it's time to blame educated people who are "distant" and "don't understand" because they're just so educated and "high and mighty," rather than think "hey, why don't I try and get an education as well, so I can be intelligent, make educated decisions and create a better future for myself and those around me?"

It hasn't come to the surface just yet, but it's a bubbling and I'm scared for all of us. Yes, there are problems with access to education, and that's something that needs serious attention. Still, that doesn't mean the best thing to do is attack anyone who does have one. Meanwhile, it seems to be increasingly cool to plead ignorance and want a leader who does the same. Now that is frightening.

Part two emerged just today, with "Joe The Plumber" reporting live from Israel on the current escalation of violence. He offered such telling insights as "when someone hits me, I'm going to unload on the boy." When discussing the situation for Israeli's in southern Israel he said “I’m sure they’re taking quick showers, I know I would. So you can’t plan your day, you can’t take a picnic.“ Mortars are being launched and he's talking about planning a picnic?

Hundreds of people are dead and at the root of it is a conflict that is hundreds of years old, of which Joe has no knowledge, but you can't say anything about that because then you're being elite (read: intelligent). Well I'm over that. Let's get a few things straight. Joe the Plumber has no idea what's happening in the Middle East and should not be given a platform by the likes of even CNN, who are reporting on his reporting, which is in and of itself a major problem.

It's alright that people are experts in subjects then use that expertise to explain a situation or do something about it. Rather than get irritated, maybe just try and learn something from them. What's more, why doesn't the media get back to doing it's job - reporting real news. By telling stories like this they're legitimizing this attack on education. What else did Joe have to say? Oh, just that the media have no business reporting war. Why, you ask? Because it makes "the war" unpopular and then it's harder to fight it. And where did he make this statement? While reporting on war!

I can only hope there isn't some broader agreement on this absurd notion. While I in no way believe the mass media have done a good job of reporting conflict these past 8 years, I can't even imagine where we might be had all of this been simply happening with no watchful eye. What about Abu Ghraib? Guantanamo Bay? The list goes on and on. Still, there it is once again - advocating for ignorance. For staying in the dark and not seeking anything beyond your own immediate World. Does that really sound ideal to you?

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

--

Kyle Taylor

Political Food For Thought

I'm off for the weekend on a Scholarship Shindig, but here's some food for thought. This was forwarded to me by some who is almost as big a political junkie as me:

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well rounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services Committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works, and Veteran's Affairs Committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.


* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.


* If you teach responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.


* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.


* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.


* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25, and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.


OK, it's much clearer now...

--

Kyle Taylor

Obama Is Where It's At

I've donated and I've recruited and now I'm at the point where I will honestly and truly do anything and everything it takes to win. That's what made me a HIllary-ite: She was willing to do whatever she had to do to claim victory against pretty steep odds. Well, Obama has learned and now he's got what it takes, but it goes far beyond that.

We're talking about the future of humanity, and that is not something to take lightly. It may sound melodramatic, but trust me when I say it is simply realistic. Things are bad. Things are quite possibly the worst they have ever been in my lifetime, my parent's lifetime and my grandparent's lifetime (they've told me so). Companies own America and they own you. The rich get $240 million in severance for driving a company into the ground and the rest lose everything.

Forget for a minute who you "like" and think about who has the best ideas. McCain is against regulation. McCain is again healthcare for all. McCain is against equal rights. If that isn't enough, a McCain win would mean that Sarah Palin is a "heartbeat" away from the White House - a White House that would be home to the oldest President in US History. Are you willing to bet the future of humanity on her? I'm not.

Be weary. They'll say anything to win, and most of what they've been saying are flat-out lies. They go on about being the "Original Mavericks," whatever that means. Now, more importantly, do you really want the economy in the hands of a "Maverick?" That's not a safe bet. So watch these two clips and get to know the real McCain and the real Obama. Then, on November 4th, go out and do the human thing - Vote Obama.

McCain:



Obama:

SNL Gets It Right

If you haven't seen it already, check this out:

http://nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

The Gibson/Palin Interview Decoded

If you weren't able to catch last week's three-part series of Sarah Palin making it up as she went along, here it is in about 100 words:

Palin: "Hi Charlie. Thanks for joining me in the great state of Alaska." Insert random, out-of-place reference to Hillary Clinton in a sad attempt to lull her supporters. It fails miserably. "You know Charlie, war is hell. I can see Russia from my house."

Gibson: "Have you ever met with a foreign head of state?"

Palin: "You know Charlie, there are people out there hellbent on destroying us. I can see Russia from my house."

Gibson: "So the answer is no?"

Palin: "I. Uhh." Insert some form of the word hell. "Russia. House."

Gibson: "Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?"

Palin: Leans in as if she is going to say something extremely important. Points finger at Gibson. Sweeps enormous bushy bangs. Asks in the same tone a 12-year-old in deep trouble uses while trying to bide time, "Which part?"

Gibson: Rolls eyes. Sighs loudly. Thinks to self, "I have more experience than you do, and I can't even see Russia from my house." Breaks it down in the same tone a parent uses when talking to a 12-year-old in deep trouble, "The part about preemptively striking if the US is threatened."

Palin: "You know Charlie, America comes first." Insert lie about visiting troops in Iraq and Germany. Say it was honorable, even though it never happened. Realize that telling lies seems to work really well, as no one questions a word she is saying. Smile awkwardly. Tilt head. Get back to using dramatic words that have nothing to do with the question. Insert form of the word hell. Finish with, "and I love guns."

Honestly, how can anyone vote for this person? This isn't sexism, it's realism.

--

Kyle Taylor