Rather than continue to be herded like sheep in our often blissful, but more often self-defeating ignorance, let’s instead seek to become our own kings and queens. No more of this self-loathing anti-intellectual nonsense.

Anti-intellectualism is self-sabotage dressed in false populist humility. It’s the kind of spiritual laziness that flatters itself into thinking that emotional intuition or common sense can do all the heavy lifting of truth-finding.

We sometimes mistake humility for hostility. Those with an anti-intellectual bent tell people they’re noble for distrusting thought and courageous for mocking complexity. But rejecting intellect doesn’t empower, it infantilizes us into becoming passive, or worse yet, passive-aggressive to those we disagree with. Sure, it’s easier to be herded than to lead, but those who call that “freedom” are dangerously deluded.

It’s not productive to pretend that it’s rebellious to mock scholarship. Constantly goaded through curated comfort zones created by carefully crafted algorithms, we’re losing the instinct to question. We must stop romanticizing ignorance and start reclaiming our crowns, but not for ego, rather for evolution.

Yeah, it can be trendy to sneer at ‘book smarts’ and glamorize gut feelings, even turn ‘trusting your gut’ into an affirmation. Your gut’s only good if it’s fed well and properly. Starve the mind and all you’ve got is instinct, which tends towards being raw, twitchy, and easily fooled.

The reason anti-intellectualism can be so popular is that it flatters the ego by lowering the bar. It preaches that ignorance is purity and intellect is arrogance. The reality is that it’s just cowardice with great PR. It’s frustrating to me how comfortable people have become offering disdain for complexity, because they’re being told that questioning is elitism and that seeking clarity is snobbery.

But crowns aren’t handed out for compliance. If we want to rule ourselves, we need to stop fearing critical thought and stop mocking those who take deep dives for their curiosity. We must reclaim the right to wrestle with ideas, even when they’re inconvenient. Enough self-loathing masquerading as authenticity.

~ APD, June 25, 2025