The people who vote for this administration and believe in it are basically stupid. If you want to be nice about it, they are anti-intellectual.
I think that it's dangerous to make this assumption. I don't know how much you've made a point of going out and talking to people that voted for the current administration (and still support it) but at least some of them are not stupid; they simply have _different priorities_, and perhaps most tellingly they _believe different people than you do_.
I will grant you that I believe that some of these priorities are toxic. Some of the folks on the opposite side of the aisle honestly believe that our society will fall apart if gay marriage is legalized. I think they're wrong, but they are sincere, and I claim that they are not stupid in part because they have a different definition of what our society should be like than I do.
On a more sinister note, some people are in favor of the direction we're heading because (they believe that) it benefits them. They're not stupid either: opportunistic, maybe, evil, maybe, but not stupid. (cf. Karl Rove in your own post)
Another thing that it comes down to is that I _trust_ a different set of people to give me reliable information and interpretations than most of the hard-core Bush supporters do. I basically discount everything that Ann Coulter says as crap; they do the same with Michael Moore. I think I'm right and they're wrong, but they think so, too. :)
As a final note, assuming that people that disagree with you are stupid is generally not a good tactical move. If nothing else, unless you're an excellent actor, it will put you at a significant disadvantage when dealing with them, because they'll be able to infer your contempt and will treat you accordingly. Try understanding them first; you're more likely to get somewhere useful.
The only solution to this is to make being an intellectual "sexy" again
Is there a point in history at which you believe that being "intellectual" was ever sexy on a society-wide level? In any society? How much are our heroes admired for their intelligence, and how much for their courage and/or stubbornness?
they're not stupid.
I think that it's dangerous to make this assumption. I don't know how much you've made a point of going out and talking to people that voted for the current administration (and still support it) but at least some of them are not stupid; they simply have _different priorities_, and perhaps most tellingly they _believe different people than you do_.
I will grant you that I believe that some of these priorities are toxic. Some of the folks on the opposite side of the aisle honestly believe that our society will fall apart if gay marriage is legalized. I think they're wrong, but they are sincere, and I claim that they are not stupid in part because they have a different definition of what our society should be like than I do.
On a more sinister note, some people are in favor of the direction we're heading because (they believe that) it benefits them. They're not stupid either: opportunistic, maybe, evil, maybe, but not stupid. (cf. Karl Rove in your own post)
Another thing that it comes down to is that I _trust_ a different set of people to give me reliable information and interpretations than most of the hard-core Bush supporters do. I basically discount everything that Ann Coulter says as crap; they do the same with Michael Moore. I think I'm right and they're wrong, but they think so, too. :)
As a final note, assuming that people that disagree with you are stupid is generally not a good tactical move. If nothing else, unless you're an excellent actor, it will put you at a significant disadvantage when dealing with them, because they'll be able to infer your contempt and will treat you accordingly. Try understanding them first; you're more likely to get somewhere useful.
The only solution to this is to make being an intellectual "sexy" again
Is there a point in history at which you believe that being "intellectual" was ever sexy on a society-wide level? In any society? How much are our heroes admired for their intelligence, and how much for their courage and/or stubbornness?