The Modern Battle Against Anti-Intellectualism

Anti-intellectualism is on the rise, and it's because of intellectualism. Most have not heard of this concept, but it is a fundamental issue in modern society. In Hugh Holman's A Handbook to Literature, Holman defines anti-intellectualism as, "a hostility to and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectualism, commonly expressed as deprecation of education and philosophy and the dismissal of art, literature, and science as impractical, politically motivated, and even contemptible human pursuits." A key phrase that many Americans can relate to here is politically motivated, which we know all too well on both sides of the aisle. It's the sentiment that it's us vs. them. Normal folk vs. academic, wealthy elites. All our politicians use this tactic to gain the votes of these "normal folk."

In order to define what an anti-intellectual is, we must of course understand what it means to be an intellectual. Are you an intellectual? Am I? Are we all? The Cambridge Dictionary defines an intellectual as "one relating to your ability to think and understand things, especially complicated ideas.” To be an intellectual does not necessarily mean having a 200 IQ score or being a great philosopher. One’s wealth and socio-economic class does not determine intellectualism. To be an intellectual is to be someone with a desire to learn, to surround oneself with information that they want to know about. To be an intellectual is to be curious about why and how, and it is because of intellectuals that humanity has become as advanced as it is today.

So how is anti-intellectualism on the rise? In 2022, Test Prep Insight released a poll stating that nearly half of all Americans had not read a book in the past year. Now, does reading a book make someone an intellectual? No, of course not; it does show one's thirst for knowledge. In this day and age, where the answer to any question we have can be found in a matter of seconds, it is amazing that people still take the time to read a book from cover to cover. Because of the intellects who created our new digital hive mind, we now have no desire or need to dig through loads of information ourselves. Why would we when the answer is right there? According to the Search Engine Journal, over 25% of people click on the first Google search result. Often, if you search a question or topic, you'll discover that the first result is a Wikipedia article, which anyone can edit at any time. Of course, Wikipedia is a handy source, but the fact that information can be bent in such a way should be frightening to us all.

On the other side of anti-intellectualism is stigma. It is now an infamous plot line in every classic, cheesy Hollywood high school movie that the smart "nerd" is bullied by the dumb "jocks," but why is this? Like everything in Hollywood, the issue of "nerds vs. jocks" is not completely black and white in real life, but stems from stigma towards those with specific passions and desires to explore these interests.

In order to fight anti-intellectualism, I'm not saying that you must read twenty books in a week or anything; it is simply to question all information and how it is given to you. We can use technology to our advantage, and many already do in our battle against anti-intellectualism. The next time a thought enters your mind, you should Google it and click on that first result, then the second, and maybe even a third link. To destigmatize intellectualism and curiosity, means to do nothing at all and just stay curious and truly immerse yourself in whatever passion you have. Whether that's cooking, advanced calculus, or soccer, you owe it to yourself to be curious about your interests. So go out there, read a book if you want, read a few extra articles, but most of all, stay curious.