There is what I consider to be a strange surge in this country, led largely by people who haven’t been classically trained and/or have been taught various forms of bigotry standing against anyone brown or black, but also against intellectuals.  Against people who study.  Against people who know more.  Against scientists and the information they have to present.  It also seems to encompass a religious component, which I vaguely understand.  I realize I will offend some people with this one, but please understand that I don’t care about that, nor will you compel me to care about that.

With the explosion of social media, a new trend has arisen.  With the ability to express one’s opinion to a broad audience, one gains a false sense of security in “knowing” their opinion is not just “correct” but also valuable, and you don’t have to face down the person you are either insulting or incorrectly correcting with “information” you retrieved from a click-bate site on the Internet that nicely backs your own prejudices and opinions, comes a false sense of understanding and experience.  In other words, Facebook and Instagram have helped create a lot of special snowflakes who just like to spread their vile, twisted, uninformed beliefs which have already been debunked but which they are too lazy or stupid or both to look up.  They like their uniformed world that supports their beliefs regardless of factual basis, thank you very much.

For centuries of recorded history, people of intellect, of knowledge, of wisdom, who have studied various subjects in depth, have employed objective, scientific methods to challenge common but incorrect beliefs, and have been at the forefront of discovery, of innovation.  They have deftly managed to convey their findings to others, and engender curiosity in their students.  We have all benefitted from the seeds of their wisdom.  We have, as a society, stood on the shoulders of giants in order to further our common cause.  In order to further our knowledge.  In order to further our society.  In order to attempt to create a better society, a better life, from the intellects of our fore bares.

I’ve done many things in my life. I am an amateur astronomer, a scuba diver, a network admin, a yoga instructor, a motorcycle rider, a pilot, and I love a good street race.  As much as I’ve studied and read and experienced, as far as I’ve traveled and as much as I’d like to believe people possess enough curiosity to dig deeper, they don’t seem to do so anymore.  I’m not sure why I’m still surprised that people in Southern California look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears when I overhear a conversation regarding the recent eclipse and one person doesn’t get what the big deal is and I chime in and say, “Well, it was cool for the average observer, but the really big deal was that scientists, with all their recent advances, got an up-close and personal view into how gravitational forces bend light and what that means in the scheme of Relativity.”  Seriously, there were crickets.  Jaws dropped.  What?

Why?

I do not live in a flyover state.  (Here is where the true insults begin, but I’ve been to many flyover states and there is a reason they have been dubbed that.)  I live in Southern California, a destination for many who dream of becoming rich and famous.  It is a place of higher education, hypothetically.  We are one of the “coastal states” that foster great minds and great dreams.  We foster many other things as well, some of which can be quite unsavory.  But we are the most populous state in the United States.  We are the sixth largest economy in the world.  You would think we would be better represented.  You would think that people would be aware of the true scientific curiosity behind the solar eclipse.

Nope.

Were it not for some of the young people I know who are not only intellectual but feisty, I might lose hope.  But those young people are members of what is an increasingly elite group who have intellectual parents who foster their children’s desire to learn and evolve.

Then there are the snowflake children.  Allow me to elaborate.  These are the children who either didn’t have intellectual parents and got an A.A. degree and suddenly think they’re all that, or they come from a background where their parents lathered praise and money on them for everything they did or did not do.

An interesting work situation came up recently where a young girl who has seniority over me by way of working somewhere longer than I have, who just received a degree in criminal justice and who aspires to go to law school, decided to school me on everything she was in charge of in the store.  She was beyond officious.  I just listened…because I have more degrees and more experience and I at least know that sometimes, shutting up and listening buys you a lot.  The end result was that I learned about her lack of experience, her inability to shut her yap, and her deplorable lack of curiosity for someone who claims to wish to go into said profession, all of which will not serve her.

Fascinating.

These are the same people who get offended when I use “big” words.  But you know who gets even more offended when I use big words?  People who don’t know how to look up “opprobrium” in the dictionary.  Or people who do not even understand the meaning of “disingenuous” at the off.  Or people who don’t have enough life experience outside of the continental United States to genuinely not know what I mean when I ask, “What are you on about?”

Look.

I have had it with the anti-intellectual backlash.  Read a fucking book or two.  Or maybe look up a new word you didn’t previously know on the daily.  Travel to a different country if you have the means and attempt to take it all in, instead of (and I’m sharing this from an embarrassing experience with my father) going to a small town in Italy and demanding a steak and potatoes after you are offered an exquisite local dish.  Yes, that happened, and yes, I wanted to crawl under the table.  If you don’t have the means to travel and/or the temperament to, I’m back to read a fucking book or two.

Now.

To those who say they don’t feel welcome in the company of people who are educated and you went back to your flyover state or want to do so as a result, I say this:

  1. If you demonstrated any curiosity, I’d be happy to walk you through many subjects with which I am familiar. But if you don’t demonstrate any curiosity, please, go back.
  2. If you think I’m being arrogant, that’s fine. It’s also because you know on some level that I clearly know something you don’t and I’m sure that makes you feel uncomfortable.  I’m sorry you feel uncomfortable.  But please, for the love of God, do something outside of your comfort zone to further your actual knowledge and stop wasting your time on click-bate websites.
  3. To those of you who believe I’m judging you based upon your knowledge and experience after asking extensive questions, yes, I am. And I’m well within my right to do so.
  4. To those of you who think that isn’t fair, I encourage you to contemplate setting your ego aside long enough to decide if you want to be a part of the conversation and learn, or if you are so childlike that you are just going to pick up your ball and bat and go home.  But do not whine to me about not being accepted in an intellectual circle if you don’t care to learn anything and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  5. To those of you who believe I’m an intellectual bigot, I say this: Yes, I am. And I am at the end of stomaching deliberately ignorant, ill-informed and stupid people.

Get an education and get a life.

To those of you who relate to this frustration, just keep at it.  Keep reading.  Keep speaking out. Keep people honest.  Keep being strong.  There are yet many of us with healthy intellectual curiosity with whom you can converse, exchange ideas, and further your knowledge.  For us, facts are not optional.  They are a prerequisite.  As Neil deGrasse Tyson once said, “The great thing about science is that it’s true whether you believe it or not.”