Every once in a while I read a book that I'd like to put on a reading list for every American. This time it's Susan Jacoby's The Age of American Unreason.
It's clear from Jacoby's writing and her content that she is an American intellectual of the highest order. To get the full meaning of her prose, I found myself re-reading paragraphs, asking myself if I agree with her ideas, reviewing the framework she uses to make her points, and looking at her bibliography to assess her sources. From her bibliography, I've found at least three more books I want to read.
What is her point? Jacoby believes that America has settled into an age of anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism, as evidenced by the huge numbers of Americans who do not know--or never learned--the basics of science, the primary events of American history, and critical reading skills. Her point is that Americans believe what they are told without giving thought to who is speaking or writing, and that we have become a nation without the critical thinking skills to make up our own minds in a rational and thoughtful way about anything.
As she weaves through the current threads of American life -- fundamental religion, digital communication, celebrity culture, and junk science -- Jacoby examines what brought us to our current situation and asks, "Is this what our founding fathers intended?" After examining the intellectual enlightenment of Jefferson, Adams, and other framers of the Constitution, she thinks not.
"Blaming it on the Sixties" is my favorite chapter, perhaps because I can remember most of what she writes about: the Kennedy assassination, racial justice, nuclear disarmament, the Vietnam war, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. All of these events, along with the Kent State shootings and other college sit-ins and demonstrations, helped to set in motion the growing divide between conservative and liberal political thought in the U.S. From 1970 onward, through Watergate and the Reagan era, the U.S. has become more and more divided, not only by political thought, but by education, religion, and location. In a culture where reading is steadily declining, to be replaced by"infotainment" on TV and on the Web, we are, as Jacoby points out -- in an "Age of Unreason."
Like all market-conscious authors, Jacoby understands that she has painted a bleak picture of the U.S., so why should anyone buy her book? Buy it, because she redeems herself in the last chapter, looking forward to the increasing number of Americans who are recognizing the scientific and enviromental problems inherent in global warming, the need for health care reform, and the need for national standards in language, history, and science. Like our forefathers, Jacoby has faith in the American people.
I borrowed this book from the library, but I assure you I will own a copy soon. I want to be able to review the author's arguments, make a few contrary arguments of my own, and build on the ideas she has expressed. If I am not mistaken, that's what America is supposed to be about.
Mrs. B
It's clear from Jacoby's writing and her content that she is an American intellectual of the highest order. To get the full meaning of her prose, I found myself re-reading paragraphs, asking myself if I agree with her ideas, reviewing the framework she uses to make her points, and looking at her bibliography to assess her sources. From her bibliography, I've found at least three more books I want to read.
What is her point? Jacoby believes that America has settled into an age of anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism, as evidenced by the huge numbers of Americans who do not know--or never learned--the basics of science, the primary events of American history, and critical reading skills. Her point is that Americans believe what they are told without giving thought to who is speaking or writing, and that we have become a nation without the critical thinking skills to make up our own minds in a rational and thoughtful way about anything.
As she weaves through the current threads of American life -- fundamental religion, digital communication, celebrity culture, and junk science -- Jacoby examines what brought us to our current situation and asks, "Is this what our founding fathers intended?" After examining the intellectual enlightenment of Jefferson, Adams, and other framers of the Constitution, she thinks not.
"Blaming it on the Sixties" is my favorite chapter, perhaps because I can remember most of what she writes about: the Kennedy assassination, racial justice, nuclear disarmament, the Vietnam war, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. All of these events, along with the Kent State shootings and other college sit-ins and demonstrations, helped to set in motion the growing divide between conservative and liberal political thought in the U.S. From 1970 onward, through Watergate and the Reagan era, the U.S. has become more and more divided, not only by political thought, but by education, religion, and location. In a culture where reading is steadily declining, to be replaced by"infotainment" on TV and on the Web, we are, as Jacoby points out -- in an "Age of Unreason."
Like all market-conscious authors, Jacoby understands that she has painted a bleak picture of the U.S., so why should anyone buy her book? Buy it, because she redeems herself in the last chapter, looking forward to the increasing number of Americans who are recognizing the scientific and enviromental problems inherent in global warming, the need for health care reform, and the need for national standards in language, history, and science. Like our forefathers, Jacoby has faith in the American people.
I borrowed this book from the library, but I assure you I will own a copy soon. I want to be able to review the author's arguments, make a few contrary arguments of my own, and build on the ideas she has expressed. If I am not mistaken, that's what America is supposed to be about.
Mrs. B
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