Anti-Intellectualism: America's Mysterious Downfall Bullying statistics suggest that at least one in four children will be bullied during their youth. Children may be bullied for a variety of reasons, including attracting positive attention, being intelligent, having personal vulnerabilities, having few or no friends, popularity, unattractive characteristics, disability, sexual orientation, unusual beliefs, or even race. Among these reasons for bullying there is a very important one that many people fail to understand and that is anti-intellectualism. Anti-intellectualism is the hostility, opposition, and distrust of intellectuals or people with intellectual opinions. Anti-intellectualism fundamentally believes that it is not important to listen to academics or any form of professionalism because they do not have much “common sense”. Intellectualism is usually expressed through education, philosophy, literature, art and science. Anti-intellectualism never really originated; it has always existed but there was never a specific word for it until 1963. In 1963, Richard Hofstadter, an American historian and public intellectual, wrote a book on anti-intellectualism titled Anti-intellectualism in American Life. Suddenly there it was, the word Anti-Intellectualism. It just happened and slipped into the dictionary. It was evidently written in invisible ink, for no one saw or knew what that word was. Its meaning was unknown to most and irrelevant to others, so it was shrouded in a dust full of curiosity and mystery. The most famous and excessive political case of anti-intellectualism occurred in the 1970s in Cambodia under the rule of Pol, Pot and Khmer. Red. People were killed simply because they were intellectuals... middle of paper... by Susan." The Shambles of America." The Washington Post. Feb. 17, 2008: n page. Print. Knoll, Kathy. "Statistics on the bullying." Bullying Statistics. National Institutes of Health, 2001. Web. June 12, 2014. McNally, Terrence.” How Anti-Intellectualism is Destroying America.” AlterNet, August 14, 2008. Web. May 12, 2014. O'Reilly, Tim.” The Rise of Anti-Intellectualism and the End of Progress.” O Reilly Media Inc., and Web. May 12, 2014. Williams, Patricia. “Anti-Intellectualism is Taking Over the United States.” The Guardian. 18 May 2012: n page Print."Cambodian genocide: the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot regime." Cambodian genocide: the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot regime. Np, nd Web. 11 June 2014." Teacher fired for class content has no recourse." Business Management Daily RSS. The Human Resources Specialist: Ohio Employment Law, Sept. 5, 2008. Web. June 12 2014.