Today’s (May 17) New Yorker carries an article written by Andy Borowitz under the title, “Obama alienates millions with
incendiary pro-knowledge remarks," which begins with the following passage:
“President Obama handed the Republican Party a gift for the general
election by making a series of offensive pro-knowledge remarks at
Rutgers University over the weekend, a leading Republican official
said on Monday.”
From the following lines;
“The President’s inflammatory comments, in which he offered
full-throated praise for such controversial fields of knowledge as
math and science, are sure to come back to haunt the Democrats in
November.”
I assume “pro-knowledge” means being in favor of sophistication in math and science, but neither Oxford nor Cambridge English Dictionary carries this word. GoogleNgram doesn’t show “pro-knowledge” either.
What does “pro-knowledge” exactly mean? Is it only applicable to math and physical science? Is the knowledge of liberal arts, metaphisic and social science excluded? Is the word widely used and accepted?
Best Answer
Borowitz is a writer of satire, his pieces are intended to be parody. Satirical works are often characterized by one-off language and terminology, in this case the idea of being "pro-knowledge."
There is a stereotype in US politics that the Republican party is anti-science, due to the beliefs of many its members and leaders on science-related issues, including global warming and the theory of evolution. Borowitz has satirically extended this stereotype to include being "anti-knowledge" in general, which would mean the Republicans are against all forms of knowledge. The statement from Obama is meant to imply that he is pro-knowledge, casting himself in opposition to the Republican position of being against knowledge.
This satire is driving at two ideas here:
1) Republican opposition to science can be humorously characterized as a broader dislike of knowledge in general. 2) This contempt for knowledge is shared by the general US electorate, making a "pro-knowledge" position politically dangerous for a politician.