The Pseudointellectual Paradigm
By: Lauren Webber
Consistently throughout this election year, and most notably during the height coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, social media has been ravished with posts and the reposting of images, hashtags and ideas drawing attention to police brutality, racial oppression and social injustices. As common as it was to see someone share these sentiments during tragedy, it was even more common to see someone share these and similar ideas and events as a trend and not as a core political or social statement. This is true of individuals across the aisle, riddling this year with an infectious spread of weightless information and drawing attention away from the credibility of these causes.
This ignorance not only spiked an upheaval of echo chambers, it also undermined the validity of the initial cause. In contrast, remaining unvocal on social media during this period also evoked anger, as it seemed nearly impossible to say or post something approvable. Not saying anything, however, was equally frowned upon. This resulted in a catastrophic amount of people “speaking up” by circulating the same content without any substantial or intellectual position of their own. The power that social media holds is immeasurable, especially seeing as how quickly an incident or post can go viral. That power, though, can easily go unchecked, thus creating an endless cycle of echo chambers and thoughtless content.
Imagine yelling into a well and hearing your words resonate throughout the hollow basin. Your words rolled off your tongue, dived off your lips and began bouncing about the stone walls until those words doubled, tripled and quadrupled throughout the watering hole. Echo chambers exist as ideas that are shared and then repeated incessantly, fueled by confirmation bias and a lack of individual research.
This dangerous ignorance contributes greatly to accepting and sharing false information as well as to pseudointellectualism. There is an often-neglected difference between being smart and being intellectual. Most anyone can memorize a collection of statements and ideas and share them. Less people are able to make a statement citing the research that lead them to that conclusion.
These pseudointellectuals have infested the political spectrum and have diminished the educated voice. As previously stated, modern societal activism encourages everyone to speak up. It has made political involvement a trend rather than a privilege and duty. This lack of political research and knowledge leaves the ignorant especially inclined to voting and acting on popular choice rather than educated conclusions.
This ignorance transcends age as individuals are more likely to rely on their political socialization when voting and making decisions; this political socialization results mostly from the home and upbringing, consequently leaving the youth susceptible to unchecked adult negligence. This problem transcends partisanship, as these echo chambers and pseudointellectuals exist across the entire spectrum.
The encouragement of speaking out without being previously educated has resulted in a dismissal of silence being a statement itself. Though silence has been demonized to represent a lack of interest or political engagement, regurgitating unsubstantiated and hollow statements should be less admirable than remaining quiet. Furthermore, silence is arguably wiser and more educated a stance than trendy shares on one’s feed or timeline. The increased political involvement would be desirable if the involvement was not based purely out of societal pressure and virtue signaling.
In order to dismantle this surge of pseudointellectuals, we must begin questioning the statements that they share and make. The goal would be civilized political discourse that would help expand perspective. However, a pseudointellectual will most likely be unable to retort or even explain his or her stance or statement in full without becoming defensive or all-togethering shutting down.
As the constituents of an increasingly diverse and outspoken nation, we should be encouraged to take part in our democracy and take pride in our political education. The efficacy surrounding our democracy has begun to fade, but instead of being replaced with researched discourse and intriguing conversation, it has been replaced with echo chambers of hollow ideas being broadcasted by sheep caught up in the façade of activism.
The nation has grown apathetic and lazy in our political intellect. She has become content in her perspectives and neglects consuming or validating those that oppose hers. Not only does the consumption of like-minded media confirm and expand one’s predisposed political leanings, it also rapidly increases political polarization. It ought to be considered that perhaps the president is not the primary polarizing factor in modern politics, but rather our inclination to receive content purely confirming our predisposition.
Without obtaining factual background and a well-researched ideology, we are left naked and vulnerable to being raped of our independence and individuality. It is rare that we can consume any statement at face value. The beauty of linguistics and the ability to mold language has been manipulated by propaganda, avarice and hidden agendas.
Before digesting and then repeating ideas, we must do our due diligence in personal research before drawing conclusions. Contributing to echo chambers is not only a waste of intellect and breath, it also masks and undermines the important messages that need to be shared and trumpeted. Words often have more than physical power and strength. The way that we use them ought to be intellectual, well-intended and well-researched. The ever-expanding intolerance for one another has stifled the diversity that makes America vibrant. Participating in baseless and divisive activism and rhetoric, while entertaining pseudointellectuals, will continue to diminish a respectable and legitimate American constituency.