A Penny for Your Thoughts

I picked up Susan Jacoby's book, The Age of American Unreason, for a pence, and so far that's about how much I think this book is worth. Jacoby tries (so far in vain) to describe the anti-intellectualism that has grown out of all proportion in America. She starts by chastising politicians for the use of "folks," which she sees as a dumbing down of the electorate. She claims this term was rarely if ever used before Reagan in addressing the people of the United States, but since 1980 has become a favorite term. Surprisingly, she does make an effort to equate folk with German "volk," which Hitler used widely. Instead, she takes the tone of a schoolmarm in questioning other terms, such as "troop," which is now used widely in the place of "soldier."

But, her biggest peave is the refusal to accept evolution and other scientific theories by a large cross-section of Americans, which she blames on the rise of "Fundamentalism" in America. She cites the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, where Clarence Darrow may have won the battle, but William Jennings Bryan won the war, as states continue to make it difficult to teach evolution in the classroom, and several states have tried to introduce "intelligent design" as an alternate "theory." She says this refusal to accept basic scientific theories puts us behind the learning curve of other developed countries and impedes our ability as a nation to come to terms with the technological society we live in.

But, scientists themselves can be held to blame, as Randy Olson engagingly pointed out in Flock of Dodos. They haven't made much effort to make science accessible to a broader cross section of the country. Alan Alda has made it his task to push scientists to cut out the jargon and find better ways of explaining complex theories and processes so that a greater percentage of Americans can understand them. Scientists could take a few pointers from Larry Gonick.

Jacoby fails to mention that many of those who do accept Darwin's theory of natural selection do so largely on faith, as few have made the effort to read his seminal The Origin of Species, much less the other more accessible books that have been published over the years on Evolution. Science has become an increasingly complex subject that has broken off into a myriad of disciplines. It is a far cry from the study of Naturalism prevalent during Darwin's day. We marvel at the breakthroughs, often viewing them as miracles because it simply takes too much effort to understand them.

Instead, Jacoby vents her anger on religion, claiming it has stultified the American mind and made society increasingly crass and unreasonable. She also doesn't have very much positive to say about the media, which has played into debates like the evolution v. intelligent design debate in an effort to create stories rather than provide necessary background information. I guess it depends largely on what you watch.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro

Dylan in America

Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.

Team of Rivals Reading Group

''Team of Rivals" is also an America ''coming-of-age" saga. Lincoln, Seward, Chase et al. are sketched as being part of a ''restless generation," born when Founding Fathers occupied the White House and the Louisiana Purchase netted nearly 530 million new acres to be explored. The Western Expansion motto of this burgeoning generation, in fact, was cleverly captured in two lines of Stephen Vincent Benet's verse: ''The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried / The metal sleeping in the mountainside." None of the protagonists in ''Team of Rivals" hailed from the Deep South or Great Plains. _______________________________ From a review by Douglas Brinkley, 2005

Dispatches from Vilnius

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