In his essay “On Stupidity,” Thomas Benton, the pen name for William Pannapacker, associate professor of English at Hope College (MI), identifies two cultural trends which have served to undermine the intellectual seriousness of today’s college students, and of American society in general. One is the proliferation of technology and wired connection, and the effects include diminished verbal skills, perpetual distraction, skimming in place of deep reflection, short attention span, and self-absorption. I’ve written in previous blog postings about this trend, and educators, as well as church leaders, do well to recognize and address the shallow virtual reality in which so many of the rising generation live so much of their lives.

The other trend which Benton notes is the rise of anti-intellectualism in American public and political life. Click to continue »