Anti-intellectualism, has spread like an illness over our society. It is the new “in”, the status quo, the great dulling equalizer.

It starts in the school system, where it serves as a statement of rebellion against the system of education. And I get it, its groovy, banging on the system, refusing to learn, because we are told we have to. However, it has become such an established institution itself, that a better statement of rebellion would be to not conform to these social peer pressures brought into the academic environment. For to adopt anti-intellectual sentiment is to conform to the ill-will of the establishment.

The institution of reading is frowned upon as a waste of time, the engagement of autodidactic learning, rarely pursued. Where the Renaissance ushered in an age of intellectual engagement, and artistic expression, we are facing an era of commercialized irrelevance and ignorance.

People blindly chase the American Dream, the placebo-panacea, the forcefully inserted suppository of the Almighty Dollar. That pursuit of happiness, has been replaced by the pursuit of ignorance. We over-prescribe Ritalin and anti-depressants, in effect creating a blanket, hypochondria-response of limited attention and contentment. We are taught to jonze for our next momentary, fledgling-fix of distraction. That to be entertained is not only our God-given right, but our way of life.

Those higher pillars of comedy; irony and satire, are rarely used, instead appealing to the lowest common denominator, through the exercise of producing the most crude and obscene shock-value humour. This envelope has been pushed so far, it rarely succeeds in raising our pulses anymore.

There is very little said, that generates controversy, which can serve as a catalyst for deeper conversation. There are a breed of news-satires which do present an elevated sense of humour into the world. They stand to be a productive fixture on how we commentate on the news, and the significance of the world stage in our own lives.

However, as more and more people are turning to these shows as their only news source, it becomes evident that people’s desire to be entertained is winning out over the desire to be informed. It is not entirely a bad thing that people are learning from these forums and credit must be given for their achievements in this light. It does, however, stand out as a biting physical commentary on the eroding state of interest people have in the world around them.

The reality show system of bringing us vacant water-cooler talk, has replaced the movement towards intelligent conversation. Why discuss such mundane things as business and local politics, when you can speculate on the irrelevant politics of who will be the next to get kicked of the island.

You do not have to be smarter than a fifth grader, to make it on tv these days. Anyone can, and they are rewarded for stupidity, pettiness, greed, lust, shallowness B their ability to jump through hoops and make an ass of themselves to entertain us, all for that dream chance of being on the idiot box.

And on TMZ (a guilty pleasure) they talk about these one-trick pony reality “stars”, prancing blatantly around the Hollywood circuit, their fifteen minutes long over, milking the proverbial dead dog for all its worth, as if they are somehow worthy of notice. Are you fucking kidding me?! One-hit wonder artists, at least have some credibility as pop culture references somewhere in the obscure depths of trivia knowledge. The exhausting line-up of Z-list celebrities, we have created are far too trivial even for trivia. How did we ever get to the point where Paris Hilton is somehow relevant? Reverse evolutionary cycle?

It seems that one cannot even commentate on the present state of anti-intellectualism, without being greeted by the response: “What the hell is that? Never mind. I don’t want to know.” See, that is called irony. If you are enjoying this piece, you can probably appreciate the use of this literary device. If on the other-hand this is your designated response, you may be wondering why you are being referred to as an “iron.”

This sense of not wanting to learn, and not wanting to know, is a commercialized endorsement of marketing the creative stagnation of entertaining the masses into mindless zombies. While the pursuit of intelligence, exists as a never-ending stimuli, the purposeful deterioration of this pursuit, leaves one susceptible to the boredom and desensitization offered by the void of cliche and repetition, the product of groin shots, pet tricks, and controversially-empty crudeness our culture has come to value. So be not a product of your environment, for as any environmentalist knows, the environment is ever on the brink of apocalyptic jeopardy.

If you really do not believe there is an epidemic of anti-intellectualism, you need look no further for evidence than the success of Bush winning two consecutive terms in office. You look me in the eye, without laughing, and tell me that was a product of intellectual thought.

Written by Andrew