Wingnuts maintain that anyone who indicates having received a passing grade in high school English is a cultural elitist, and is therefore a threat to the Republic.

 

No I'm not joking. And I'm not comparing my honors stipend to a full ride scholarship. I just didn't know they'd pay me to be in an honors program.

The fact is there are a lot more people with brawn then there are with brains. My son got a $1,500 a year scholarship offer to go wrestle at a junior college but instead accepted a $7,000 a year honors scholarship at our state university.

I guess the point I was trying to make is its pretty easy to see that Barack Obama's intelligence is what paid for his education. That and student loans of course.

 

Interesting comparison. Skewed because they are actors speaking lines. But even so of the four people you mention which ones would you bet would score higher on intelligence tests? I'd bet it would be the Hepburns.

 

*laughing* I was sure that was going to turn out to be from The Onion.

 

Professor Henry Higgins: I know your head aches; I know you're tired; I know your nerves are as raw as meat in a butcher's window. But think what you're trying to accomplish. Think what you're dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the English language, it's the greatest possession we have. The noblest thoughts that ever flowed through the hearts of men are contained in its extraordinary, imaginative, and musical mixtures of sounds. And that's what you've set yourself out to conquer Eliza. And conquer it you will.

 

It is interesting that you quote Proffesor 'iggins, bringing that delightful adaptation of Pygmalion to our humble forum. Such wonderful dialogs there were between he and 'liza.

Now, do you think our cousins across the pond think that our president-elect speaks the Queens English??

 

Now you just hold 'er there a second Kimiko. You know you're my hero and all that (not to mention you sure can unwear a pair of panties). But I hold no sway nor truck with the English Language being our greatest possession. It ain't all that grand of a lingo if you ax me and it more 'n likely would have died out years ago if Americans hadn't got the kinks out of it and got it to understanding.

 

*reads everything that everyone has posted*

*thoughtfully* It's interesting to hear everyone commenting on "Intellectualism" and the arguing back and forth about it being elitist or not. But what I'm a little surprised about is that no-one has commented on anti-intellectual elitism.

I'm sure everyone has experienced it. The person who wears their stupidity like a badge of pride. Who is suspicious of anything smarter than he/she is, and actively mocks the intelligent, for being elitist - even if they have no idea what the word elitist means. These people take pleasure in expressing themselves in the basest way possible, with semi-coherent grunts, guttural street slang, or constant profanity.

This "stupidness worship" is even filtering through into teen movies and celebrity, where each movie vies to be dumber and more offensive than the last one, and one or two celebrities who constantly curse, take drugs, can hardly speak two words without autocue, and have the intellectual capacity of a cabbage. (Take Kate Moss's ex, Pete Doherty, for example)

I find it puzzling. Why is being stupid, something worthwhile? Why do some take pride, in idiocy and illiteracy? And why is that seen in some parts of society, as a good thing?

I can understand intelligence being valued, because it is of benefit to society as a whole. But valuing stupidity is - ironically - stupidity, in itself.

Bye for now - Fluffy McNoo.

 

What's the worst is the people who are both. They're incredibly stupid(usually with street slang or attempts at humor that are just mind-boggling) and proud of it at one moment, and then try to talk as if they're extremely intelligent in another, by doing nothing but basically saying they're intelligent, usually by putting other people or ideas down so that people who are impressed by that sort of display of "intelligence" will think "oh, he is sooo intelligent"

Ehh, I guess there's just tools on both sides of the coin, huh?

 

Yes, it doesn't hurt to have a well educated and eloquent speaker in the White House for a change. Barack Obama and John Adams were both law graduates from Harvard that were never in the military. John Adams was probably one of the most important historical figures in the creation of the United States by having written the Declaration of Independence. If it wasn't for him, we may still be sending free money to England today.

 

Why do people laugh at "dumb" blonde jokes??

Why do men cream their jeans over a "dumb" broad type??

It appeals to the huddled masses that someone is dumber than they are.

Thats why Stumbler is my hero. :excited:

 

Actually, I believe Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

 

And he owned slaves, how intellegent was he?

 

I'm sure there's a point there somewhere.

 

Isn't this the "triumph of intellect" thread???

Here was a great man in the history of the US, who didn't see a problem owning other human beings.

 

Hmmmmm....I don't see a particular conflict between being intelligent and owning slaves, if you lived in 18th Century Virginia. That was the prevailing paradigm in that time and place.

 

Actually is wasn't the prevailing paradigm in that time, it was among slave owners but not others.

 

If you were wealthy and owned a lot of land in Virginia, what do you think were the odds that you were a slave owner? I still fail to see your point.

 

My point is that we consider prejudices to be anti-intellectual, yet we have a man who displayed his prejudice and is considered great.

He himself had grave misgivings about slavery and such prejudice and wrote this essay attempting to reconsile it.

http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/slavery.htm

Methinks that you are applying the dodge tactic.

 

No, actually, I think you are. The point of my original post, as I've laboriously attempted to explain, is that we seem to be living in a culture that glorifies and celebrates stupidity and ignorance. I expressed happiness that the election of Barack Obama suggests that we may be getting over that phase.

I brought up Thomas Jefferson because someone else incorrectly attributed the authorship of the Declaration of Independence to John Adams. The fact that he owned slaves, and was morally conflicted about it (a fact that is well-documented), has nothing whatsoever to do with the point I was trying to make. He was unquestionably highly intelligent.