Wednesday, June 23, 2004

I need to finish reading this: Al Gore's speech, from May, on Bruce Springsteen's website. I need to be reminded: why can't we have an intellectual president?

1 comment:

Daniel said...

We can't have an intellectual president because we're not an intellectual country. While most of the country derides people with Southern accents as uneducated dolts [sorry, had to include my latest term paper topic there], those who have an expansive education are usually viewed as elitist. Goldernit, them college boys is tryin to take away our rights! Actually, I find this attitude more prevalent among the working classes of the Northern and Midwestern cities. Rural Southerners can usually point, with pride, to a local graduate of U. Va, W&M, Georgia, UNC Auburn, W&L or Duke, and the Citadel and VMI carry their own cachet of respect. The Buick factory employee in Flint may take pride in having sent his daughter to Michigan State, but still feels alienated by those who read the Detroit Free Press for anything except its sports section.
The vast majority of US citizens don't really prize education beyond a purely functional level, or intellectual pursuits.