You’d think, after over half a century, a subject like this would be a moot point. Problem recognized. Problem addressed. Problem solved. America prides itself on being anti-intellectual.
But sadly, no. If anything, the problem has only become magnified, these past 64 years. And rather than listen to this broadcast with a sense of quaint antiquity, it’s listened to with a goodly sense of shock that we were actually more intellectually curious in 1959 than we are in 2023. Certainly, technologically we’ve made huge strides in that time. But from a strictly intelligent human being sense, I’m afraid we’ve fallen way behind. We are in the midst of a dumbed-down culture, slowly chipped away at for decades, not years.
In short, we’re in trouble and we have to turn it around. But then, we’ve been in trouble for a long time and maybe it’s too late. It would be nice consider we’ve hit rock bottom, I just hope it’s not a series of trap-doors.
In the meantime, here is that episode of the CBS Radio series The Great Challenge, “Is America Becoming Anti-Intellectual?” first broadcast on March 3, 1959. It’s moderated by veteran CBS Newsman Eric Sevareid, and features Dean of Arts and Sciences McGeorge Bundy from Harvard. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Dr. Robert M. Hutchens and Dr. Edward H. Litchfield.
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