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Intelligence does exist even in the Intelligensia. It does sometimes happen that a man of real talent has a weakness for flattery, even the flattery of fools. He would rather say something that silly people think clever than something which only clever people perceive to be true. G. K. Chesterton, All Things Considered (1908)
Chesterton wrote that early in the twentieth century. It is even truer now, in the first quarter of the twenty-first. In his book, The Fractured Republic, Yuval Levin warned us of the dangers of a new kind of politics - one where politicians sought office in order to have a platform to perform on, not to address real problems with legislation. Our media reward silliness (witness the incessant promotion of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), while ignoring or suppressing anything that threatens the dominant position of the monoculture.
Ricochet is a pocket of sanity in the midst of fools.
Discussion (65)
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My favorite quote (attributed to just about everyone) on the subject is this one:
The definition of an intellectual: Someone educated beyond his intelligence.
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It is unfortunate that we must run with a controversial performer like Trump rather than some more disciplined, statesmanlike figure but the other side is more dysfunctional. It is noteworthy that Democrats who too often vote like serious adults (Manchin, Sinema, Fetterman, Gabbard...) are marginalized or expelled whereas malignant buffoons like The Squad are given attention. The Harris candidacy is a bad joke, a giant absurdity that ought to be some kind of final reductio ad absurdam but instead, it looks like America has not yet hit bottom.
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That is perfect!
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I think it's going to have to get worse before it gets better, unfortunately.
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Semi-related: As I recall, the term intelligentsia is Russian in origin, and in order to be regarded as a member of that class one had to not merely be highly educated but also politically far-left.
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