When did stupidity become a minority demanding the protection of its rights?

I just read a stimulating article from Chris Hedges on Truthdig detailing our fall from the intellectual haven of print based culture to the entertainment centered, instant gratification giving, image obsessed world we see around us today. (If you enjoyed Postman you will love this.)

Just a few shocking facts from Hedges:

“Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate.”

“Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book.”

“During the 2000 debates, George W. Bush spoke at a sixth-grade level (6.7) and Al Gore at a seventh-grade level (7.6). In the 1992 debates, Bill Clinton spoke at a seventh-grade level (7.6), while George H.W. Bush spoke at a sixth-grade level (6.8), as did H. Ross Perot (6.3). In the debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, the candidates spoke in language used by 10th-graders. In the debates of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas the scores were respectively 11.2 and 12.0.”

My favorite quote perhaps:
“Voltaire was the most famous man of the 18th century. Today the most famous “person” is Mickey Mouse.”

Also the article quotes Hannah Arendt who warned that commercializing culture, making it more “entertaining” threatens to degrade it. Oh didn’t they just publish our classical novels in a shortened, lighter format for school children in order to introduce them to the “fun” or reading? (For those not on board I’m blogging from Hungary.) Strange, about fifteen years ago I found these books fascinating and perfectly understandable. I know it is a hell more complicated than that but I just want to shout out: “Stop, for heaven’s sake stop! We are going the wrong way!”

“There are many great authors of the past who have survived centuries of oblivion and neglect, but it is still an open question whether they will be able to survive an entertaining version of what they have to say.” /Arendt/

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