Ingredients for a Public Intellectual

Public intellectuals are not the most popular people in America. They reject the status quo and break down old myths with facts they have obtained. Although, this is crucial to the development of society it is not always accepted with open arms. Many intellectuals have been persecuted for attempting to provide information to the public. The famous astronomer Galileo was put under house arrest for trying to inform citizens
of the Roman Empire that the Earth was not at the center of our solar system. He stuck to his idea and because of his bold statements we now know the truth. No person wants to be proven wrong, but it is the public intellectuals duty to openly reject ideas that are incorrect.

But what exactly is a public intellectual? Well in the simplest of terms it is a person who has vast knowledge in one or several fields and can express all this complicated material into understandable terms. Samantha Power is an example of what it is to be a public intellectual in America. You may have never heard of her before, but a majority of people have heard of her causes. Particularly, her criticism of the genocide in Darfur, which created awareness of the conflict in the Capitol. She has also written about the conflict between Russia and Georgia and the stolen election in Zimbabwe. These are all conflicts that Americans would have never known about if she and other public intellectuals hadn't made them so easily understandable.

Providing information is not what makes public intellectuals unpopular, it is their analysis of the situation. Public intellectuals are not journalist. They don't simply take the facts gathered and pass them on to their audience. In addition to communicating the information, they criticize the mistakes made and provide solutions. These are the two building blocks of a public intellectual criticism and solution. For instance, Power criticizes Russia, Georgia and the U.S. in the Russia/Georgia conflict. She criticizes Russia and Georgia for not solving their conflicts peacefully and the U.S. for being completely uninformed. Her solution for the U.S. to learn about a country's history other than its own. For Georgia and Russia, she suggests they both take some responsibility and come to an agreement with some incentive from Western countries.

Public intellectuals in America are not celebrities. But even if the majority of Americans couldn't tell you who Samantha Power is, they recognize the issues she has fought for. It is her work that it important, and that will push our society to the next level. Public intellectuals are not declining, but they are evolving.