Intellectual Americans

My dear Eagle! As a "stupid" conservative American, I salute you! Prosit! It does seem that those "holier than thou" former members are now well set, in their new digs!

Their "rapier" wit, and constant "downgrading" of any post that challenges their view of the ideal current world, or their view concering the "ancient world", are basically the same!

That is, there is only "one way" and it is supposed to be "their way! chuckle!

Regards,

Sorry! Paul you should be ashamed! Laugh!

RED CLAY, wrote, with a bit of sarcasm, I hope;
"No I had been lead to believe by television and movies there is a national divide in the US North vs South. The north is filled with educated, well mannered, sophistacated people and the south fill by ileducated, cud chewing hicks."

Reading the responses I tend to side mostly with Lipovan87 (what ever that is intended to mean?) and since all of my family, has resided in the Southern USA, since the 17th Century, I would tend to defend my own kind!

First of all, I might tend to question these words of RedClay; "well mannered!" If, indeed anything might be said well about the Southern part of the USA, this might well be the first thing thought about by visitors from another nation! Southerners, at least until the invasion of millions of Yankees since the War of Northern Agression, were known, and mostly are still known for the graciousness of their manners, etc.! Thus, the respected terms in European Royalty such as "yes, sir, or yes, mam'am!" etc., is certainly more "mannered" than the mere "yes" or "no" that comes out of the mouths of babes in the more "mannered" NOrth! Laugh!

What is really strange is that the Communistic / Socialist North, degrades such "respectful" terms, and for that very reason! Indeed most all of those who disregard such terms, were already used to being disrespectuful to those in authority, or those of Royal blood, when they left the Old Countries! They were mostly "democrats" even then!

Whereas, in the Southern States, the majority of landholders, were from the world of "Gentlemen and Ladies!", and not from the scum of the Earth! chuckle! You must know that I am being somewhat "tounge in cheek!"

But, it is even a known fact that the poor state of Mississippi, at least until the 1980's or so, had more scholarships to OXford/ Cambridge, "per capita", than any other state in the USA!

Funny what?

Simply pointing out the often disconnect between being considered smart and actually having an idea about the world. Which is the more intellectual? It depends on the definition.

The less educated man with greater curiosity and willingness to acknowledge his lack of information often accomplishes more intellectually than the person who sets out to prove his intellect by massive feats of analysis. A concise admonition of ignorance is a valuable corrective but also is used to deny a person the status of "intellectual" by the more defensive of "intellectuals".

Here is a problem I have run into in my own studies. People write long and intricate articles about the impact of air strikes on diplomatic negotiations yet fail to realize that there effect they ascribe to air power could be more readily attributed to a massive ground offensive. That the people on the ground and military personnel observing it judged the ground offensive to be the major element in the diplomatic changes.

A bit bit of common sense would say that if people keep fighting despite air-strikes, they are unlikely to surrender if the air strikes continue. If they say that land invasions are their determining factor, then they are probably right.

It doesn't take a phd to realize that and most people know that instinctively. Despite that, people become overconfident when they are recognized as smart and suddenly start making erratic predictions due to overestimating their capabilities.

I don't have a television and have only heard of Joe the Plumber by reference.

Something I have noticed is that intellectual capabilities are more tied to subcultures than the larger American society.

The Northern US states have large numbers of Blacks who migrated out of the South while it was still a very poor and uneducated region. They also brought dysfunctional values with them that afflicted the larger Southern mindset. Over time, Southerners of all backgrounds but mostly Whites started to disdain the Hillbilly mindset that is still parodied and supposed to be dominant in the South.

The most distasteful idiots I have encountered have been hedonistic young fools who by virtue of their being in a wealthy coastal suburb in the North, supposed they knew everything about society and moral philosophy. It would have helped their case had they understood the difference between a specific and a general statement.

The problem is not an IQ level but the "empowerment" beyond common sense. I have had more reasonable conversations with manual workers due to their not claiming to know everything than with young College students who magically understand  how to create a utopian socialist society without understanding economics or even thinking how things would get done.

Less self-confidence and more curiosity would help. The problem is often aggravated in "High Policy" magazines as they are technical just enough to get credibility but not detailed enough to understand the situation.

The problem however is when people don't know what belongs in spoken dialect and what belongs in written standard.

That there is quite simplistic, anything you decide which sounds good in your spoken dialect I think you should have in any variety of speaking or writing.

Damned be all who would stifle the evolution of language. The world worked quite fine without standardization for 99% of it's existence.

Originally posted by Reginmund Originally posted by Omar al Hashim Besides, I'm not sure the percentage of people speaking even a remotely correct English are sufficient to allow anybody to join AE Remotely correct English is only spoken by foreigners. English speakers usually accept any sort of destruction of the language possible. This is true, and I always feel out of place when I have to correct native English speakers. I assume they have grown up with popular corruptions of the language and that these have become ingrained in their mode of speech. It's the same with many dialect speakers in my own country; they mix up their dialect and the standard language, the end result being rather confused, while immigrants learn pure standard from scratch.

Standard language is boring. I try to teach all foreigners I know proper dialectal words and expressions.


Edited by Styrbiorn - 20-Oct-2008 at 12:54

Besides, I'm not sure the percentage of people speaking even a remotely correct English are sufficient to allow anybody to join AE

Remotely correct English is only spoken by foreigners. English speakers usually accept any sort of destruction of the language possible.