Dumb it down

The country was utterly taken with Forrest Gump--"Stupid is as stupid does," he says. Wisdom without elitism. Over the last generation education has been under assault, not only from various special interests, but conceptually and ideologically. Pink Floyd's "The Wall," "We don't need no Education!" Movies that romanticize ignorance, politicians incapable of eloquence, and pundits who regularly vilify the "educational elite," are examples. I see the names of young people's musical bands, "Supernothing," "What?!" and "Dumb it Down." I ask myself, what is really under attack? Is it the perception that intelligence, skill, and education are not to be trusted? Or, is it that people with educations are not to be trusted? Or, even more insidious, is it an effort to discredit anyone with an education by forces with ulterior motives--conscious or not?

Watching the news I see story after story where wealthy and/or powerful interests are busy protecting themselves from the fallout of a poor or predatory decision by attacking the veracity of the critics, often using propaganda that vilifies the informers as elitist or self-serving (see any story covering environmental issues, for example).

Where does this leave us as a country and a society? If we constantly attack our educated people, vilify eloquent speakers and politicians, alienate the average citizen with the erroneous claims, and make education more and more difficult to obtain,  then are we collectively choosing a path that cannot end well.

We have to ask ourselves as we complain about the environment, the economy, politics, crime, etc., how does ignorance serve us? Schools are becoming more expensive--and therefore more elitist by definition. Competition and punitive elements have become the norm in struggling populations--attack the teachers if students are not performing up to "standards," rather than recognize the challenges and address them effectively. We have created a culture that says I must "lottery" my way into a good education. We make luck and wealth the prerequisites for a valuable place in society. In short, we are becoming crabs-in-a-bucket, scrambling over the backs of our friends and neighbors in an effort gain advantage--ultimately pulling everyone down.

And again, we must ask ourselves, "Who does this serve? Who benefits when we are ignorant, uninformed, and fighting ourselves? Who?"