America Needs Its Geeks

The term 'nerd' can, and does, mean different things to different people. When someone is called a nerd by their friends it is not considered a big deal, but when a stranger calls another stranger a 'nerd' or a ‘geek’, it can be seen as aggressive. The sole idea of 'America needs Its nerds' by Leonid Fridman is that America does, if fact, need its individuals that would rather read a book than go out and party, who would rather study than play football, who would rather build upon their academic prowess than their social or physical skills because without kids like these, America; the great, world-class superpower, would be full of sheep who follow the trend of being anti-intellectual and who intentionally dumb themselves down to fit in with people who follow the same stupid trends.

One of the points that Fridman makes is that people who are a little less socially amble are often called names like 'geek'. A 'geek', Fridman writes, according to Webster's New World Dictionary, is a street performer who shocks the public by biting off heads of …show more content…
Fridman asks the rhetorical question, “How long can America remain a world-class power if we constantly emphasize social skills and physical prowess over academic achievement and intellectual ability?” to challenge the culture of the country and its mindset. The passage also directly calls out people who attack others with terms such as 'geek' and 'nerd' and relays to them the message that they should try and respect these individuals as they have done absolutely nothing wrong. The passage explains to all of its readers that it is not ethically right to shame and belittle individuals who are a little less social, and are just trying to help themselves succeed and along with them; their