I guess FaceBook has come to stay; despite everything I hate about FaceBook—and I wish someone will invent a substitute for it; I don't mind paying a nominal fee to have something like FaceBook without the oppressive disadvantages—it looks as though I can't stay away from it.
No, this post is not about FaceBook!
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| Leonard Bernstein, c. 1950 |
No, this post is not about Leonard Bernstein, either, though he was an amazing, admirable person. As you probably know, music is one of my major interests, and I have lots of opinions about it. But, once you get to know Bernstein, about Bernstein, you are struck by the breadth of music that Bernstein liked, and appreciated, and was anxious to popularize. I mean, there were a few sorts of music that he did not particularly like, but they were vastly in the minority.
What Bernstein commented on was essentially about being a human being. About being someone who lived on this planet. About knowing all the wonderful things that there are on this planet, (and out of it, if it comes to that,) appreciating them, and loving them, and bringing them to the attention of everyone who had a moment to spare. (Bernstein was not unique; Carl Sagan is another one, and arguably Neil Degrasse Tyson is yet another, with perhaps a smaller set of interests on which he comments.)
I have often written about my belief that a college education is about knowing what there is in the world that we should care about, and be interested in. Some people prefer not to know. If it isn't mine, then what do I care? This is a defensive posture; it avoids the pain of worrying about things over which you don't have direct control. But it detracts from that thread of concern that connects you to the world, that you need to make sense of what you see in the news; to talk to people whom you meet, to make sense of the motives of others; to reach out to those with common concerns, in order to make joint efforts to solve problems. A college education is also about focusing in on matters about which you care greatly, to train to specialize on that area, with a view to working in a field that interests you. (But we know that many go to college purely to be qualified to get a high-paying job, even if they don't have time to learn very much about the qualifications for that job the energy or the inclination to pursue those subjects to the necessary depth.)
The reason that the emphasis has changed from connection to the world to getting a high-paying job is because employment is steered today by businesses---or employers of which the majority are businesses---and hiring practices are subject to maximizing profits and minimizing costs. In fact, there is lots of money to go round. But the competition for financial resources is so fierce among the most wealthy that it appears to ordinary folks like us that there is very little money to spare. Everyone's attention is so completely on money, because for many students, there is great doubt whether they will be able to earn enough money to have a reasonable lifestyle, that nobody talks about falling in love with our planet and its people. It only comes up occasionally, in a graduation address, and nobody actually listens. To be honest, a living wage, or a comfortable wage is important before we can stop being drudges, and are able to free our minds to think. But you see all around you, people who are kept from being free to think, because they were either denied the opportunity to attend college, or attended college as if it were a vocational school.
Because it is no longer feasible to leave it to high-school teachers and college professors to deliver basic lessons on universal values: the conservation of cultural and Art treasures, and knowledge of history; of natural resources; protection of valued ways of life; it is up to parents to take up the slack. Those of us who were lucky enough to have been told about the treasures of the world, we're going to have an easier time of it. For the rest of us, there are numerous programs on TV: The National Geographic (which could be weaponized by Murdoch any day now; for the moment it seems politically neutral); the Discovery Channel (I don't really know anything about it), and so on. We have to be critical, because soon these channels might be dispensing absolute crapola.
Unfortunately for everybody, there are not many public models for young people to emulate. One has to look very hard to identify a public personage who demonstrates the properties of caring for others, for valuing the cultures of other lands; for appreciating the Arts. This is very painful. In the parable of the Talents, Jesus is reported to have said words to the effect that from those to whom much is given, much is expected. Unfortunately again, the culture of the most affluent in the nation seems to go in the direction of effectively saying that they didn't get where they are by being expected to give much. Ironically they talk about makers and takers, but it is they who take. We cannot expect much charity from them, and we cannot expect much leadership from them, and we cannot expect much polite speech, and we cannot expect intelligence. We can only expect them to take mean advantage of any weak opponent; that's how they make their money—with a few notable exceptions.
Well, I had much more to say, but it has fled my mind. Perhaps it is just as well; my blog posts often tend to ramble off topic. This time, it has just stalled! The skills needed to be a citizen are actually learned in high school: mathematical, statistical, logical, language skills. High schools may not be as efficient in teaching these skills as they once were, but I get the impression that teachers still convey these ideas fairly well. It is impossible to possess these skills, and not convey them to students of an appropriate age.
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