Dumbing Down: Essays on the Strip-Mining of American Culture

by Katharine Washburn (Editor), John F. Thornton (Editor)

Passionate observers across the political/intellectual spectrum confront the downward spiral of American life, art, and thought. With vigor, wit, learning, common sense, and urgency, twenty-three essayist―including John Simon, Cynthia Ozick, Phillip Lopate, George F. Kennan, Sven Birkerts, Joseph Epstein, and Brad Leithauser―examine aspects of our pan-cultural "dumbing down" and offer both diagnoses of and possible cures for this wasting disease.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural, Anthologies, Social Science, History, Philosophy, Education

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Nathan Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The insights in this book are brilliant. I don't agree with a few of the authors, but I suppose that inevitable with a long collection of essays, no 2 written by the same person. That's not what prevented a 5 star rating for this book.

Here's what did: The book consistently equates the degrading of values and intelligence in America with the degrading of tradition. Far too many essays hold the opinion that since we don't value the same things we once did, we must not have any values. Chief among them is the essay on religion that seems to be advocating a return to a middle-ages mindset. Following closely behind is the guy who finds it tragic that in school we are no longer required to memorize century-old poems for in-class recital. It's true that things are degrading; the solution is not to return to old (and mostly outdated) value systems but to create new value systems. Not a single essay in the book suggested anything remotely like that.

That aside, everything the book said is absolutely true. We are getting dumber at a frightening rate. If you have ever seen the movie Idiocracy, and found it funny but too ridiculous to be taken seriously, reed this book. If you have not, read this book and then watch the movie. Unless something is done, that's where we're headed.

[Jon]

Right-wing monster William Bennett's blurb was used on the cover of the hardcover edition, but for the trade paperback the publishers wisely switched to Neil Postman. There's some dumb stuff here--John Simon's cranky introduction, Armstrong Williams' view that needle-exchange programs exist to give young black men needles (no, Mr. Williams, they exist to give needles to anyone who walks in with used needles), and a description of Kurt Cobain as menacing when in fact his appeal was largely based on his cuddly androgyny. But for the most part these pieces are useful, thought-provoking, lacking in overt ideological bias. The targets--shopping malls, political correctness and questionable educational trends, processed food, the Internet as a substitute for meaningful human communication--may be familiar but the writing tends to be fresh. Trivia note: the editors mention that the earliest citation they found for the phrase "dumb down" is from "one H.T. Webster", apparently they didn't know that Webster was a cartoonist, best known for having created the famous character Caspar Milquetoast.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often I look around and ask, "What is WRONG with America?" This book answers that question in some detail. I don't agree with every point made, but it's definitely worth reading. My only complaint is that the format - a collection of essays - results in a very hit-or-miss quality for the book.

[Christina Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays were hit-and-miss. While most of them were clear, intelligent, and incredibly needed, others spiraled into leftist propaganda or an arrogant form of elitism that was downright nauseating. With that in mind, this was an excellent read, well-worth the attention of anyone concerned with the direction in which our culture is headed.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays were fair, but there was one that I enjoyed tremendously. "I Feel Good About Being a Black Male," by Armstrong Williams was excellent and I plan on reading his book. This would be an excellent essay to read and discuss with my students.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking essays from a variety of experts/disciplines (even if they sometimes border on whining).

[Christopher Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it if you come across it. Funny and scary. America - EFF YEAH! We're doomed.

[Bob Prophet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book as a gift and sincerely appreciated many of the essays, particularly that by Armstrong Williams.