I love it when I see there are other people in the world fighting the same things as me. It heartens me and validates my brilliance. In an article titled "The Age of American Unreason" found here http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23227115/ Susan Jacoby attacks the slow degradation of American language and its effect on the populous at large. I find her attack on the prevalent use of "folks" particularly interesting.

What I like especially about her article is that it points out how a simple substitution of one word an have such far-reaching effects. For those that doubt it, look at the way "terrorist" now equates with the ultimate evil (think Satan) instead of a sort of evil. Terrorist in fact, operates, in much the same way Drug-Lord did in the 80's. Examining action movies would be a really interesting cultural study for that sort of thing I think.

I also find it comforting to know that someone out there is publishing on this age of anti-intellectualism that seems to have come over our country. I've actually had the thought several times: is this how Romans felt as the Medieval Age began to sweep in? The loss of seemingly obvious knowledge, the return to freakishly superstitious ways of life, and a backwards march in humanity's treatment of itself? As religion plays a bigger and bigger role in the public sphere of American life and we elect people to run our country based on their "averageness" I find myself thinking about this more and more. I often consider what the history books will say about this period in time. What will be remembered about the American people? What will children ask? I hope it isn't "how could they let that happen?" That's what I asked when I studied WWII. It's also what I asked when learning our own history of genocide, both intentional and unintentional.

I'm not comparing us to the Nazis; I actually am incredibly encouraged by this upcoming Presidential election. Unless McCain wins we should be okay. And I don't say that simply because McCain is a Republican, though I am not, as you all know, Republican, but because he is so darn eager to bomb Iraq. I don't know what the answer is to our situation over there--we've screwed it up pretty good and I don't see the solution as being quick and easy, but I would really, really like to have someone in the White House who at least understands that it is screwed up. And more than that, someone who doesn't feel like they have the answer. Not to mention that I really do feel a problem equally as large as Iraq is our abuse of civil rights here on the home-front and it is incredibly important to me that we have a President willing to address that.

All of this is to say that things aren't right. Maybe they never were, maybe this isn't as bad as it could be, but it seems to me they are pretty bad. And the ways in which this wrongness is being perpetrated are continually ignored--specifically media and government. As I teach and bring examples up I watch students' eyes widen when they realize how they've been had--by propaganda, double-speak, and advertising. When I read this excerpt I hope (though I know it isn't true) that more people can see how they've been had. I keep thinking that eventually people, somehow, will put a stop to the media's spiraling out of control. I keep thinking that eventually people will demand something better of their government.

It's a hope, and perhaps a small one. But that's the great thing about hope, you only need a possibility to have it, and sometimes having it is all you need to make the possibility a reality. So here's to hoping.