Thanks for the smile on my face this morning, Barry. Those last two sentences were perfect.
I also liked the Carl Sagan quote. I have always felt it was unfortunate that he could not reach a wider audience. It is even more unfortunate, and to the detriment of us all, that one of the audiences he could reach, the U.S. Congress, refused to listen.
"They resemble the assemblies that Carl Sagan once wrote about when he feared for the ‘dumbing down’ of America, at a time when: “no one REPRESENTING THE PUBLIC INTEREST can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness…”"
There has been an anti-intellectual strain in America since the 17th century. Already impoverished people from England and Ireland were loaded up on boats and literally dumped in America, particularly in the south, not knowing anything or having any skills. The monarchy and the wealthy simply wanted to get rid of them. This is why our founding fathers felt that a republic should have educated, intelligent men in charge who would do what was “best” for them. These unwilling immigrants were not offered any help to enable them to get started. They and their children and grandchildren remained uneducated and resentful and distrustful of the government and of those who were educated. They were able only to perform only the dirtiest and most physically stressful jobs in America, only one level above enslaved people. If you want to read more about it check out historian Nancy Isenberg‘s book, “White Trash: The 400-Year-Old Untold History of Class in America.”
Thanks Barry for another interesting article
Thank you for giving your time to read it!
Thanks for the smile on my face this morning, Barry. Those last two sentences were perfect.
I also liked the Carl Sagan quote. I have always felt it was unfortunate that he could not reach a wider audience. It is even more unfortunate, and to the detriment of us all, that one of the audiences he could reach, the U.S. Congress, refused to listen.
"They resemble the assemblies that Carl Sagan once wrote about when he feared for the ‘dumbing down’ of America, at a time when: “no one REPRESENTING THE PUBLIC INTEREST can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness…”"
You are bang on re the Congress, Peter. They had a gem and they refused to look.
There has been an anti-intellectual strain in America since the 17th century. Already impoverished people from England and Ireland were loaded up on boats and literally dumped in America, particularly in the south, not knowing anything or having any skills. The monarchy and the wealthy simply wanted to get rid of them. This is why our founding fathers felt that a republic should have educated, intelligent men in charge who would do what was “best” for them. These unwilling immigrants were not offered any help to enable them to get started. They and their children and grandchildren remained uneducated and resentful and distrustful of the government and of those who were educated. They were able only to perform only the dirtiest and most physically stressful jobs in America, only one level above enslaved people. If you want to read more about it check out historian Nancy Isenberg‘s book, “White Trash: The 400-Year-Old Untold History of Class in America.”
I have just ordered the book. If you get a cut from the publisher, you can record another sale! LOL!
No, I don’t 😄 but I recommend it highly! I read it several years ago.
That book sounds interesting! Thank you.