Sweet land of... conformity and dumbness?

We were just sent this article from the Boston Sunday Globe last June by Claude Fischer.

The subtitle of the article reads:  

"Americans aren’t the rugged individuals we think we are"

It goes on to give research facts and figures that show a contemporary America contradicting directly the messages of Emerson, Thoreau and Martin Luther King (cf the 6th paragraph of the article).

This article in itself would not be so, well, intriguing to us if we hadn't received this article from one of our recent residents in the same week: The Dumbing of America: Call me a Snob, but Really, We're a Nation of Dunces by Susan Jacoby in the Washington Post of February 17, 2008.

The article's first sentence quotes Emerson:

"The mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon itself."

 

Which leads me back to the subtitle of Jacoby's article:

"There is no quick cure for the epidemic of arrogant anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism that has infected America."

As an aside, when I looked up the dumbing down of America online I came across this website which says nothing about the "dumbing down" but does have lots of interviews with bands? I would hazard a guess that it's an American website but as there is no "About" page, simply invitations to join their social media links, I wouldn't know.

No Room for Science in French Wine Making

Just found this interesting article in the Washington Post about French winemakers fighting genetically modified vines.

Particularly liked the description of the concept of terroir:

"Although hard to define, the term embraces the soil, weather, skills, art, authenticity, traditions and ultimately the "feel" that come together to fill a bottle with something good to drink."

The Post also has a very cool informational link about France on their site too.