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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > December > 04 > Entry
the dumbing down of AMERICA
I read lots of galleys; advance copies of upcoming books. I’m reading one at the moment that I’m finding profoundly disturbing. The Age of American Unreason (Pantheon Books-February 12) by Susan Jacoby is an analysis of what she perceives to be currents of anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism that are sweeping across American life.
Jacoby asserts that “the fundamental issue in the 2008 campaign ought not to be the lies politicians have told but the ignorance of a credulous public (and its elected representatives) unable to distinguish between truths and falsehoods about issues ranging from the war in Iraq to America’s broken health care system.”
She cites some numbing statistics to support her thesis:
Children under six spend 2 hours a day watching TV or videos but are read to by their parents for only 40 minutes.
Adults watch TV seven hours a day, and over 40 percent look at “whatever’s on.”
More than half of Americans reject any form of evolution-even guided by God.
Two-thirds of Americans between 18 and 24 cannot find Iraq on a map.
Americans who get their news from the Web are almost as likely to fail international geography tests as are those who are computer illiterate.
Only about half of adults read a single book in the course of a year.
One in four Americans believe the Constitution established Christianity as the official religion.
Do any of these statistics bother you?
Jacoby writes that “it remains to be seen as the current presidential campaign unfolds, whether Americans are willing to consider what the flight from reason has cost us as a people and whether any candidate has the will or the courage to talk about ignorance as a political issue affecting everything from scientific research to decisions about war and peace.”
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
Comments
By victor mickunas
December 6, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
Some good points are being made here, Thanks!By TRS
December 6, 2007 12:25 AM | Link to this
We can build our own little “empires” - that is true. Why do we do this? Life is full of choices. Perhaps a Zogby poll released today gives us a hint as to why people choose not to be up to speed in the important issues of the day. It found that 82% of the American public are dissatisfied with the political system. Today, debate and discourse can only be described as “Jerry Springerish”. Advocacy replaces rational thought and name calling replaces intelligent discussion. Obviously this is not popular with the public and they pretty much tune it out. As far as some basic governmental and geographical knowledge, if parents are turned off by the poltical system, can you expect them to encourage their kids to get involved? Is government and geography an important part of curriculum in most high schools? Can’t expect kids to have knowledge they were never taught.By victor mickunas
December 5, 2007 5:30 PM | Link to this
Thanks, Mike—your insightful comments are always appreciated.By Mike
December 5, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this
There are any number of reasons that can justifiably be cited for our continuing slide into ignorance. One thing is for certain. We are now in an age where “the truth” is customizable to your own prejudices, preconceptions and desired outcomes. The rising tide of round-the clock info-tainment requires that a consistent stream of mindless minutiae take precedence over facts and documentary evidence when it comes to any number of important issues. One can truly “create their own reality” and be immersed in it 24 hours a day and never have to encounter information which conflicts with their desired world view. Want War?? Want to overthrow another country because you want access to their resources?? Hey, let’s just create an office in the government whose job it is to customize the information to make a case. Ignore, vilify or discount contradictory information, even if you need to lie to accomplish it. Cause once we have war, well we can’t just leave now , can we? And one can almost always rely on our compliant traditional media, our grand Fourth Estate to help bolster the government’s case, facts notwithstanding. Accountability has become nothing but a buzzword. Keeping people in ignorance is central to the perpetuation of the status quo. Go back and read “1984”. Orwell hit it square on the nose.By victor mickunas
December 5, 2007 1:44 PM | Link to this
or, evolved too much…By Jcason
December 5, 2007 8:02 AM | Link to this
More than half of Americans see evolution for the farce that it is? We must not be dumbed down too much…By Ken
December 5, 2007 5:39 AM | Link to this
I blame most of these changes on cable television and the internet. We have reached a point where we can insulate ourselves from the rest of the world practically 24/7. And since both are available 24 hours a day, they have become a time filler; to the point that you have to consciously set down to read a book. As far as children/parent reading time, 40 minutes seems pretty good for a home where parents work outside the home. Kids don’t get home until the parents do (after 6pm)and if they are to eat, bathe, and go to bed at a reasonable hour, there isn’t much time left. We have to have twice as much as our parents had (two cars, a home that is twice as big, HD big screen televisions, etc) and with it comes the need for two incomes. All of this while we seem to work less with our children and expect less out of them. We call our parents and grandparents “The Greatest Generation”, and yet we bear little resemblence to them.