Given the last couple of flaming posts, I would plead with people to respect
diversity of interests, background, credentials, gender, race, etc. etc.  Since
when has it become a sin for an academic professional to be intellectual?  Some
of us, for better or worse, make our living by thinking about different
questions and trying to facilitate others with less experience who want to
address those questions as well.  Unlike its use in most of Western and Eastern
Europe, the word "intellectual" seems to have a perjorative sense among many
Americans.  When I taught in Russia, I was regularly referred to by people
around me as "an intellectual" because I was an educator with an advanced
degree.  But it didn't bother or intimidate my friends who were factory
workers, taxi drivers, house painters, etc. Yes, there's a lot of empty jargon
batted about by folks in academia, but sometimes there are appropriate times to
use what might seem like "high -falutin'" vocabulary to the uninitiated in
order to speak about a subject with great precision.  So, I think we should all
give space and respect the voice which an individual feels is appropriate to
the subject they're addressing.  If its over one's head or too casual, or just
plain boring, use the delete key and start something that interests you instead
of criticizing others.
 
Carol Beck
Keene State College
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