I have this thing about laziness.. not physical laziness mind you, but rather mental laziness. in particular I’m referring to reading and writing literacy.
When I was growing up back in the 60’s it seems people took educational accomplishment a little more seriously than they do today. I’m not big in my advanced age on the idea of pridefulness, but back in those days getting gold stars in elementary school was a chest thumping moment, and I believe an appreciation for learning and intellectual development begins to take shape in the 5th-6th grade period.
Just my opinion, I’m no expert in academics.
Now I’m not bragging mind you, but I am painfully aware that I am “gifted” in this area. And I am aware that this privilege has made me kinda difficult to deal with on this topic, however so much I try to maintain a level of humility.
I just get so frustrated with people. Too frustrated to adequately articulate without seeming snitty, but maybe it’s unavoidable, and maybe has to do with the Aspergers issue…
Frankly, it just seems to me that once people finish whatever level of education they attain, and get out into the world, people are pretty much willing to be content with what gets them through the day, and never push themself or make any effort to exert themself mentally unless it is a financial or job requirement.
Most folk, or so it seem, once they become gainfully employed are content to atrophy in the “status quo,” and even become offended when this is pointed out to them.
Prior to maybe 15 years ago I don’t recall ever being particularly concerned with literacy rates on any level, so am not sure the standards traditionally held on a national level, relative to that of other nations.
I would like to believe that “back in the day” America took great pains to stay among the highest achievers, worldwide, in reading, math, and science literacy.
I could be mistaken.
Currently, I believe, the United States is well in the teens, if not higher, in reading literacy, worldwide, and in the twenties in math and science literacy.
Pathetic to me that America is so determined that we simply MUST lead the world economically, and militarily, for some reason beyond my comprehension, but is not willing or capable of recognizing that it was initially because of our high educational standards that we have been able to make these advancements.
These days, we seem to have slipped into a state of being antagonistic toward education and intellectualism, and those who still hold a healthy respect for education are viewed as elitist snobs.
I think it has a lot to do with partisan political divides, but i also believe it has a lot to do with religious extremism, which seems to have become almost as prevalent in western society as it is in the Middle East.
A lot of Christian extremists I have become familiar with online, as well as Conservative extremists I have met online, seem to have great, hateful disdain for education in general, and blame the education system for everything in life they have come to disagree with. Almost is if they feel threatened by education.
I have seen many Christian messages talking about the more educated you become, the further away from God you drift.
Which is confusing to me, because even though I am not a “believer,” I have always thought of God not being “out there” somewhere, but always a part of our very nature as human beings.
How can any believer come to understand you can become separated from your own self just because you have attained knowledge?.
I know what it is, of course, emotional insecurity, and the thinking that what the education system teaches is contradictory and in conflict with what the bible implies.
But that is for a different post, on a more ambitious day.
I was reading recently that up to 34% of Americans currently read at a 7th to 8th grade level, which I think is being generous .
What I perceive, is that a lot of Americans simply don’t care about how others perceive them as far as reading literacy is concerned, a lot of people seem to be prideful of the fact they are looked upon as being vapid.
It makes me want to cry, seriously, that people have no aspiration to push themself mentally unless it is directly proportional to their income.
The worship of material attainment at the sacrifice of intellectual self development.
Sadness ensues, sincerely.
Now to the “snittiness.”
To me as an “aspie” it feels like I am constantly surrounded by people who have bubbles for brains…..
Sadly, there has always been a sort of anti-intellectualism within parts of this nation. My father, for example, believed that the more books you read, the less sane you would become. Reading a lot of books would literally, in his mind, drive you crazy.
Suffice it to say, he never read anything. He was a conservative Christian, but I don’t even think he spent a lot of time reading the Bible. He just trusted to what the preacher and/or his father had told him. I never understood it either but such it was.
My father was born in 1912 so it isn’t a new situation….maybe just more weaponized with the current marriage between extreme right wing politics and extreme conservative religion in this country.
yes…… Ok…..so I remember watching a little bit of Glenn Beck years ago on the Fox network. And he was talking as if he was talking to children trying to explain something or another. I really wasn’t listening to what he was saying but was just amazed at what he was doing. Not only was he talking as if he was talking to children he was using donuts and chalk boards to give his viewers visual tools to help them understand. He moved donuts around…..cut some into pieces and moved them around….scribbled in the chalk board.
Ok….lost my train of thought here but I think someone may get my point.
It was sad really with my father. He might very well have eaten up that simplistic explanation from Glen Beck. I remember a former brother in law of his who apparently made a comment one time, and my father repeated it for years to come. It was based on nothing more than an off-hand observation with any deep knowledge of what he was talking about in both cases.
I get it. When ever I hear a crazy story from anyone that sounds like it may have teeth…..I research before I repeat it. Luckily I have a circle of family and friends who are pretty knowledgeable in different fields so I get some great information from them whenever I ask.
America not only grants work visas to labor workers from across the border to work our farms…we also grant work visas to the most intelligent foreigners to work in our labs and hold high positions in our tech companies.
We apparently think we are above picking fruit but we also do not have enough people in our work force who are intelligent enough to develop cures and design technology of the future. Which is why our government has to grant these visas.
So yeah…..it’s laziness.