I am an Intellectual and Proud of it

[puppetmaker]

From Dictionary.Com
in·tel·lec·tu·al Pronunciation Key (ntl-kch-l)
adj.
1.
A. Of or relating to the intellect.
B. Rational rather than emotional.
2. Appealing to or engaging the intellect: an intellectual book; an intellectual problem.
3.
A. Having or showing intellect, especially to a high degree.
B. Given to activities or pursuits that require exercise of the intellect.
noun
An intellectual person.

I want to know when intellectual became a bad word. I apparently missed the memo. I was reading through of the lists that I occasionally peruse since sometimes it yields interesting information. I saw one person who is rather taken by the sound of their Internet “voice” who had an egregious factual error in their post which could be corrected by a short visit to another site. A few others were trying to get her to see the fallacy that she had posted but this person couldn’t get a clue even if you hit her with a clue by four. So I posted the website with the correct information and sited several other sources which supported the website. She came back with a stream of “why are you always dragging facts into it? I was trying to have some fun and you ruined it you you Intellectual!”

I have always been proud that I am a child of two college professors. Being smart was regarded as a gift in my family. Being able to make a logical argument and back it up with facts was just part of life when I was growing up. Most of my friends when I was in public school were children of professors at the local college. My high school was well known for its intellectuals and scholars. Many of the senior class took at least one advanced class outside the school. Mine was in physics at the local science center. Being smart was a badge you could wear proudly at my school.

Recently I have noticed an anti-intellectual sentiment running through both the Internet and the real world. Smart people are being looking down on or brush off as too smart. Being too smart apparently is now a bad thing. “Smart people don’t have a true grasp of reality.” “Intellectuals think they know what the rest of us need but they haven’t any idea how the world really works.” “My professor wouldn’t last a week working a real job.” (side rant: Professors are very hard working as are teachers of any form. These are not nice 9 to 5 jobs where you leave work and don’t have to think about it anymore. Teachers have a lot of homework to do to everyday too.) “You are too smart for your own good.” We even saw this sort of thing in our last round of political elections both local and national.

So I am going to take a stand and say proudly I am an Intellectual. I think and enjoy thinking. I like math and science and other intellectual pursuits.

I am grateful I was raised to believe knowledge is a good thing to have.

Comments

[teasingfool]

“why are you always dragging facts into it? I was trying to have some fun and you ruined it you you Intellectual!”

*facepalm* Oy. That sounds familiar. For people like this, I show you *bum bum bum* my imbeciles icon with which I will one day rule. :)

[kradical.livejournal.com]

FWIW, there's nothing "recent" about it. I got hit with it constantly in high school twenty years ago. People were more than happy to make my life miserable any time I actually used my brain. Irritated the crap out of me....

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

I think this neo-anti-Intellectualism is a result of our current presidential administration. Shrub is anything but an intellectual, and has made it part of his stock in trade to present himself as a folksy, down-home boy, downplaying his Ivy League education and political insider upbringing, and casting aspersions on his Democratic opponents specifically by dissing their brainy approaches. He's presented himself, successfully and mystifyingly, as just a plain-spoken Middle American, rather than the pampered son of priviledge that he is, and has managed thereby to appeal to the lowest common denominator in America. It all stems from him. He's a plague on this country in so many ways and a crappy example to kids everywhere. And its his influence that has given rise to this anti-brainy trend; I'm convinced of it.

Be proud of your upbringing and intellectualism; I am of mine. As we both should be.

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

You said what I was going to say.

Wordy McWord of the Clan McWord.

Please let us get over it, and soon.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

I hadn't even thought about that but it use to be difficult to get into college. Most families couldn't afford having the family member out of the work force that long to earn a degree. Now it is considered almost commonplace and something that anyone can do among the middle class which didn't exist the way it does today until after WWII and the GI Bill. The only kids I hear or even parents I hear being proud about their kids getting into a college (any college) are the under privilaged. For many children it is an assumed thing like going to high school use to be in the 50s and 60s once child labor laws were changed. Most middle and upper class kids figure they have 4 years of collge ahead of them when they enter elementary school.