‘Gray Matter’–Deficient Americans
National Review,
by
Victor Davis Hanson
Original Article
Posted By: Garnet,
2/25/2020 11:21:05 AM
Former New York mayor and multibillionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, four years ago at Oxford, England, dismissed farming, ancient and modern. He lectured that agriculture was little more than the rote labor of dropping seeds into the ground and watching corn sprout — easy, mindless, automatic.
“I could teach anybody,” Bloomberg pontificated, “even people in this room, no offense intended, to be a farmer.”He contrasted such supposedly unintelligent labor of the past (and present) with the “skill set” of the current “information economy” that requires “how to think and analyze.” In this new economy, he said, “you have to have a lot more gray matter.”
Gray matter?
Reply 1 - Posted by:
jfodoch 2/25/2020 11:31:09 AM (No. 329254)
You don't ever miss a chance to be offensive, do you, little mikey? You are a discredit to your race -- the human race !
9 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Vaquero45 2/25/2020 11:51:26 AM (No. 329278)
As usual, Dr. Hanson nails it again. He knows whereof he speaks. He can not only discuss advanced economic theory, Greek and Roman classic literature, and geopolitics and world history - he can also plow a straight furrow, fix a fence, prune a tree, tune a truck, and use a gun. Bloomberg, on the other hand, would have to hire all that done, because he wouldn't know how to do any of it. What's more, he knows it.
16 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
MeiDei 2/25/2020 12:26:24 PM (No. 329312)
Another very well thought out, written article by VDH. Thanks for posting.
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Highlander 2/25/2020 12:36:15 PM (No. 329317)
I remember a science fiction about a comet dusting Earth with a mysterious substance that immediately rendered all modern conveniences useless. Everything invented since the turn of the 20th century is affected; cars, trains, elevators, t.v., radio, telephones, anything civilization needed to function. Soon, there were food riots, mass panic, death and destruction in all the urban centers. One thing I remembered reading; rural people in underdeveloped countries carried on as they always have, no problems. They were no affected by the comet's dust. Rural people in this country also fared far better than the city folks. They were able to adapt. Our liberal snobs and elitists would soon die off quickly in that scenario.
3 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
web 2/25/2020 12:41:54 PM (No. 329319)
OK, so what if we are "homophobic, xenophobic, sexist, racist - you name it?" We are Americans, and have the right to think and believe as we wish. The sticks and stones of antifa fascists may break our bones, but the labels of the left will never hurt us. I think of myself as an ordinary American, who believes in God, guns and freedom, yet I cannot access my own web site from work because it is blocked as being "militancy and extremist." It leaves me confused, as there is no content on my site that I think of as extreme or militant.
Everything these elitists buy and enjoy with their money is produced by we "deplorables." We build and maintain the infrastructure of civilization. Farmers, plumbers and garbage men keep everything going, the streets paved and the grocery stores full. You can't eat money or power.
4 people like this.
Atlas Shrugged.
7 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 2/25/2020 1:17:26 PM (No. 329361)
VDH, accurate as usual. I especially liked:
"Did he realize that his food, his safety, the maintenance of his home and car depended on others who could do things to keep his world viable that he not only could not do but also could not even imagine? Ask Obama and his class to replace a 30-amp breaker, or prune a peach tree, or drive a semi, and one could see that he assumes others who are supposedly less gifted provide his power, food, and consumer goods, using skills he lacks."
As one who learned the basics of repairing cars, building and repairing homes, tractors, and even aircraft from my father, and during manual labor jobs on a chicken farm, cattle farm, and construction jobs and then went on to get two engineering degrees, I have friends and feet in both the blue collar and white collar world.
And there is no doubt that most blue collar folks are far more broadly capable than most white collar folks, on the average. Most of my friends have similar backgrounds, both capable of DOING real things with their hands and well educated, too. That is why they are my friends.
I admire VDH doing his farming, and doing his erudite commentary - a Renaissance man, for sure.
4 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
hershey 2/25/2020 1:44:46 PM (No. 329398)
Ya know lil' Mikey, everyone has the same amount of grey matter (depending on the size of their brains), but some of us occasionally use it, which can not be said for you....
2 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Highlander 2/25/2020 2:13:31 PM (No. 329425)
A comment by #5 spurred my to post: Conservatives don't need liberals to survive and function. Liberals need conservatives to exist. Liberals cannot exist on their own.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
HerbVA 2/25/2020 4:48:33 PM (No. 329540)
Another brilliant disembowelment of our supposed betters by one of the best writers, along with Roger Kimball.
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Mother of AL 2/25/2020 5:07:39 PM (No. 329565)
When Trump was growing up, his father made him work on each of the areas of the buildings he was building; working with the carpenters, working with the electricians, working with the cement mixers and people who poured it, etc, etc, etc. As I understand it, Trump made each of his kids do the same thing. Which is the reason that Trump speaks as the *common man*. It is also the reason Trump and his kids relate to the *common man*.
I don't believe Mike has had the benefit of that .
4 people like this.
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