Now that we have officially elected an elitist as president, I can finally come out of the closet. Although close friends and family have known for years that I am an elitist, I guess it is time to announce myself publicly. It seems that people are enjoying casting stones at both the president and others who value education, the arts, and other elitist values — such as speaking in full… Read More »A Mind is A Terrible Thing to Waste
In the middle of the last century, stories were told of poets in the then USSR commanding audiences of tens of thousands for readings. America was astounded. Poetry? Not rock and roll? Granted, the Soviet Union backed those poets and rock stars were, of course, not allowed to tour. But, I think it is apocryphal. People will gather any time there is something interesting to see. The news media’s continuing… Read More »Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain
The fact that the American public elected a president in George Bush that they thought might not be any smarter than they were (and bragged about it with his C average at Yale) and that they thought it might be fun to go out for a beer with (were he still drinking, which he is not) means that we (although not me, as I did not vote for him either… Read More »How About Electing A Creative Thinker President?
It has been widely reported that liberals are more pessimistic than conservatives. Although I am not sure I buy the research I certainly fall into the liberal progressive pessimist category when it comes to the political process and the American public’s ability to read and think, seriously, about both the candidates and the issues. Because we don’t, most of us. We don’t read much. We certainly read little that challenges… Read More »Yes, We Are Stupid, Rick Shenkman