--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America's intellectual community has…" description: "\"America's intellectual community has never been very bright. Or honest. They're all sheep, following whatever the intellectual fashion of the decade ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/orson-scott-card-134_america_america-s-intellectual-community-has-nev_1742123.jpg" --- # America's intellectual community has never been very… ![“America's intellectual community has never been very bright. Or honest. They're all sheep, following whatever the intellectual fashion of the decade happens to be. Demanding that everyone follow their dicta in lockstep. Everyone has to be open-minded and tolerant of the things they believe, but…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/orson-scott-card-134_america_america-s-intellectual-community-has-nev_1742123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/orson-scott-card-134_america_america-s-intellectual-community-has-nev_1742123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/orson-scott-card-134_america_america-s-intellectual-community-has-nev_1742123.jpg) > “America's intellectual community has never been very bright. Or honest. They're all sheep, following whatever the intellectual fashion of the decade happens to be. Demanding that everyone follow their dicta in lockstep. Everyone has to be open-minded and tolerant of the things they believe, but God forbid they should ever concede, even for a moment, that someone who disagrees with them might have some fingerhold of truth.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote criticizes intellectual conformity and lack of honesty, suggesting many thinkers simply follow prevailing trends without critical thought. **In simple terms:** Intellectuals often follow trends without honesty. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and seek truth beyond trends. Themes conformity honesty intellectualism critical thinking Mood skeptical critical reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - academic debates - political discourse - media consumption - policy making Key Concepts groupthink bias truth seeking Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify genuine insight amid popular opinion? - What role does humility play in intellectual discourse? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize and dismiss genuine scholarly contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Open minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-minded/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“As we have become more open minded (tolerant) in society we have become more closed hearted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/as-we-have-become-more-open-minded-tolerant-in-society-we-have-become/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [The questions of today's average young person, who is the product of America's intellectual bastions, have been virtually unaddressed by the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/the-questions-of-today-s-average-young-person-who-is-the-product-of/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [But it is one of these sort of mythologies about America and its intellectual history, that the right embraced this thing called social Darwinism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/but-it-is-one-of-these-sort-of-mythologies-about-america-and-its/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [The truth, I am convinced, is that there is no longer a poetical audience among the higher class of minds, that moral, political, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-love-peacock/the-truth-i-am-convinced-is-that-there-is-no-longer-a-poetical/) [Thomas Love Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-love-peacock/) > [“...the notion of the classroom as an intellectual community gets lost when conference rooms by the principal's office are turned into data rooms -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylene-beers-robert-e-probst/the-notion-of-the-classroom-as-an-intellectual-community-gets-lost/) Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst > [In the 1950s and early 1960s, psychoanalysis swept through the intellectual community, and it was the dominant mode of thinking about the mind. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/in-the-1950s-and-early-1960s-psychoanalysis-swept-through-the/) [Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/) > [The Soviet experience was much worse than experts in the West had thought. That discovery had a tremendous impact both on the intellectual community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-soviet-experience-was-much-worse-than-experts-in-the-west-had/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [ That's our nuclear weapons strategy \[going to frighten people\], as of the early post-Cold War years. And I think this is a real failure… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/that-s-our-nuclear-weapons-strategy-going-to-frighten-people-as-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's nothing like the discovery of an unknown work by a great thinker to set the intellectual community atwitter and cause academics to dart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/there-s-nothing-like-the-discovery-of-an-unknown-work-by-a-great/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [...You believe that the kind of story you want to tell might be best received by the science fiction and fantasy audience. I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-believe-that-the-kind-of-story-you-want-to-tell-might-be-best/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“So I learned to be radically open-minded to allow others to point out what I might be missing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/so-i-learned-to-be-radically-open-minded-to-allow-others-to-point-out/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Civilization had too many rules for me, so I did my best to rewrite them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/civilization-had-too-many-rules-for-me-so-i-did-my-best-to-rewrite/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [I do feel very strongly about my values and principles, but at the end of day I'm open-minded and I enjoy listening to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-northam/i-do-feel-very-strongly-about-my-values-and-principles-but-at-the-end/) [Ralph Northam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-northam/) > [I have a very open mind. I believe that there's a spirit world. I believe that there's a lot of stuff out there that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-head/i-have-a-very-open-mind-i-believe-that-there-s-a-spirit-world-i/) [Anthony Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-head/) > [To prevent discussion of any other explanations of human origins is hardly what I would expect from open-minded educators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/to-prevent-discussion-of-any-other-explanations-of-human-origins-is/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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