Quote Originally Posted by birdgirl73
Are you a reader of books both modern and classic, Breukelen? I'm just curious about whether you do indeed read. I've seen you quote Nietzsche and cut and past other e-text. But I'd like to know if you ever sit down with an open mind and simply read. (I'm not asking about magazines or periodicals. Actual books.)

I hope you'll do some research into how Nobel and Pulitzer literature awards are nominated, selected, and awarded. Those are very thorough and balanced selection processes, as are other book awards like the Caldecott Medal, Newberry award, and PEN/Faulkner awards, among others. The early nominations often do involve politics, but the selections are generally very thoroughly vetted by educated, critical-thinking, respected readers and thinkers in the literary world.

Oprah may be famous. And she is certainly full of herself (most corporate chieftains and celebrities are). But I challenge you that someone of only average intelligence wouldn't be nearly as interested in books, in the condition of the world, in the promotion of education, and in doing as good a job running the huge corporation that she does. If you deem her show only as being about lowbrow culture, you've not ever watched it, I suspect, or have only done so very recently. The shows she's done on societal issues and problems affecting people are anything but lowbrow. Recently, I get the feeling that she's increasingly letting her subsidiary Dr. Phil producers tackle more and more of those societal/family/women's issues while she seems to be moving after more celebrity interviews, which I regret greatly. But her past work has included some socially important pieces: stories about female genital mutilation, abuse of various kinds, education, parenting issues, health care here and in other countries, political situations here and in other countries, and many more.

You never fail to baffle me. This time, the hardest-to-reconcile part of your comments was the quick dismissal of Oprah as only producing or understanding lowbrow culture. Yet you're the one who sees intellectual and cultural "wisdom" in The Kid From Brooklyn and has posted numerous links to his comments. It strikes me as terribly ironic that you'd characterize another "broadcaster" as lowbrow if you venerate that man as much as you seem to.
I've "baffled" a lot of people.

I never knocked Oprah's generous contributions to charity - but Dr. Phil? He's her toady and has sold out his life to her.

Lowbrow entertainment is fine sometimes. I like The Three Stooges, but they're beneath the Marx Brothers. The Kid from Brooklyn's fifteen minutes of fame is over.

I have read works by Swift, Twain, Chaucer, Dickens, Hemingway, Shakespeare, Poe, Mencken, Hume, and many other writings by various novelists, historians, philosophers, scientists, humorists, critics, etc.

The worship of Oprah and her league of chosen people, such as Michael Beckwith whom I won't even comment on, is a disgrace. I am not as qualified to criticize her literary circle of friends as a person with a background in language and English is, but I know that it's junk that serves as fodder for a "diversity" agenda within the politically correct modern society.

It's sad, really, when I see masses of people that SHOULD know better buying this junk and ignoring the worthwhile artists and their work. Turn on the radio, and you hear mostly garbage - and you see the same on TV, in print, and now theyâ??re teaching it in the schools, with our tax monies. Sad, very sad.