Henry Gates Anti Intellectualism

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Barrack Obama and Henry Gates both say that “anti-intellectualism” is not limited to a particular community, but Americans in general suffer from it. I agree with this position because it seems like many Americans see intellect as knowing the basic facts of life. People also suffer from anti-intellectualism when they try to help society all by themselves, but fail repeatedly. Lastly, many Americans don’t even try to learn more about their society, even if they have the ability to do so.
Many people in America see themselves as intellectual because they may possibly know the basic facts of life. I do not see this as intellect that they have. I see it as common knowledge. In order to be intellectual, one must “engage in critical study, thought, …show more content…

As Gates and Obama stated, anti-intellectualism isn’t limited to a particular community. Anyone who has the willingness to learn more about a different culture and gain knowledge and experience within the culture can be counted as intellectual.
If someone does not want to learn anything, and does not try, this can be counted as anti-intellectualism. Many Americans suffer from this because many of them think they already know what they need to know. Things that they “need” to know can include common knowledge about sports teams and/or who won or lost last week. Others may also think that intellect can be counted as knowing what they need to do the following day. This is actually just common knowledge and anticipation, not intellectualism.
Many intellectuals try to help people within a society by correcting wrongdoings in which they do not know about. This could include economic mess-ups, social arguments with no resolution in the current state, or even natural disasters. Many people try to solve a problem by themselves, but will not let anyone or anything help them. This would be an example of an

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