After a Long(forced) Hiatus.
Why does homework consume so much of my time? It does not help that I let my German Vocab Stagnate during the off-season; that I now find myself scrambling to capture some of those lost idioms. But the real difference comes with Bartky. It would be a lot easier if I did what has been suggested to me by those who have taken this class previously and just breezed through Plato and concentrate on the exams. However, if I took that course--easy though it may be--I would be defeating the whole purpose of taking this class, which is to learn, reason, and read the texts well. If I must go back and read that same page three times, so be it. The point of taking this class is to get a proper foundation for understanding western thought, and one does not get that by breezing through and looking to the exams.
So it seems to me that there are two themes in this epic conflict of me versus me. On the one hand, we have the conflict of profit/career versus wisdom. Am I at college for the little document that says I jump hoops well and am not unintelligent? Or am I there to learn, hone my reason, and obtain a greater understanding of the world in which I exist and of the other residents/inmates of said world? Decidedly the latter. If I were in this for purely monetary purposes I would crack the whip on my math and start toward pre-med. It would not be easy, but it is certainly within my ability and would yield a far more certain profit.
What would be the price? The workings of the human body are certainly interesting, but it is a topic for which i have no love. In my humble and oh-so-correct opinion, the pursuit of justice is rather more interesting than the pursuit of kidney stones. I prefer argument, debate, and writing over the examination of crusty bulges and removal thereof.
No. I think I will stick with the same profession I have wished to follow since I was ten years old. A profession which will require me to think in sound logical terms, and to tear apart those who do not. Before I can follow through with that I will need to read with a logical and critical eye.
And so the first battle, upon closer examination, also holds the answer for the second, which was along the lines of ease and pleasure versus effort and fatigue. To get what I desire requires the latter. If I elected the former, I could probably still complete school with excellent grades and get a job; I could also live off the charity of the state. I am not in this world to do a half-assed job and float by while someone other does the work. The idea is not to live a life of comfortable mediocrity. Effort must be the choice, because, when I really consider it carefully, it is actually the only choice that exists.
Moving on...
Symposium. This of course meant company, crammed schedule, and that I got to see some dear faces for the first time in a year, for some it had been more. Sadly, I did not get to attend very much this year, and class preempted the two lectures I most wanted to observe. But there was gemütlichkeit and the usual cheery meeting of friends that surrounds this event every year. Hmm. Interesting tidbit that came out was the possibility of having one of this year's HT conferences at Vanderbilt. I would have to attend that. Just watch, in thirty years, George might be Fosco. He beams, bounces lightly, and schmoozes well enough.
I guess that there is one more massive event that occurred while my computer cord was lost--did I not mention I lost the cord...oh well--that would be the election of Scott Brown to the Senate. I don't think it need be reiterated how monumental this was. The election of Mr.Brown to a district that hadn't even seen a serious republican campaign in thirty years is astonishing; that he did so with the President, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader campaigning for his opponent just adds to the statement. This happened for one reason; those pushing for a bureaucratization of health-care did not realize just how bitterly unpopular such a step is. When registered democrats turn out in droves to vote for a republican, you know that they mean business.
Something needs to be understood by those who are the architects of these plans; they work for the voting populace. When they say no to a program, it is fine to respond with "but it is good for you." However, when the boss remains adamant that your proposal is not acceptable, you do not go behind his back and try to broker the deal anyway. Those who follow this course of action get fired. Congressional representatives need to realize that they are there to execute the will of the people, as long as the will of the people is in accordance with the constitution. The House was to be the direct representative of the people. The Senate was to be a more contemplative and unchanging body. The House was to present the desire of the people, the Senate was to see to the moderation of that desire. Of course, along came bribery and corruption which destroyed the senate as it should have been, in response we did the only thing that made sense at the time, now we have two houses of representatives and no true senate.
Wow, am I all over the place today or what?
The point is that the people are stirred. Mass communication gives access to the dishonesty and conceit of our politicians as we have never had before. These politicians just happen to be on the receiving end of our displeasure at having found their duplicity. I think I have to give majority credit for this victory to Glenn Beck. He took the normally impotent and ineffective populace and armed them with ugly truth. He replaced the voices of pundits who 'the folks' used to turn to; the broken records who went on and on without saying anything of substance. Strident terriers like Hannity, hateful and evil loons like Savage are now obsolete, as they should have been some time ago. I appreciate Glenn because he is not a party hack and he is always, first and foremost, about honesty and following the proper protocol in the governance of our nation. Corruption thrives in the midst of chaos. When all things are done according to the rules, there can be no place for deviance. The first requirement for a government to be just, is for a government to be orderly. The rules are there, Beck is just pointing out when they are being broken.
A last random thing that I picked up that deserves note as it challenges, rightly, the notion that power corrupts. It is not the power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Instead, it is that power shows character and absolute power shows character absolutely. Easy enough to say that you would never take the power to do what you wished, push through the legislation that you wished, helped the people you wanted to help at another person's expense. You have never had to face the temptation, and neither have I, but I don't think we could resist it.
Ah, the things we learn while studying political theory...
So it seems to me that there are two themes in this epic conflict of me versus me. On the one hand, we have the conflict of profit/career versus wisdom. Am I at college for the little document that says I jump hoops well and am not unintelligent? Or am I there to learn, hone my reason, and obtain a greater understanding of the world in which I exist and of the other residents/inmates of said world? Decidedly the latter. If I were in this for purely monetary purposes I would crack the whip on my math and start toward pre-med. It would not be easy, but it is certainly within my ability and would yield a far more certain profit.
What would be the price? The workings of the human body are certainly interesting, but it is a topic for which i have no love. In my humble and oh-so-correct opinion, the pursuit of justice is rather more interesting than the pursuit of kidney stones. I prefer argument, debate, and writing over the examination of crusty bulges and removal thereof.
No. I think I will stick with the same profession I have wished to follow since I was ten years old. A profession which will require me to think in sound logical terms, and to tear apart those who do not. Before I can follow through with that I will need to read with a logical and critical eye.
And so the first battle, upon closer examination, also holds the answer for the second, which was along the lines of ease and pleasure versus effort and fatigue. To get what I desire requires the latter. If I elected the former, I could probably still complete school with excellent grades and get a job; I could also live off the charity of the state. I am not in this world to do a half-assed job and float by while someone other does the work. The idea is not to live a life of comfortable mediocrity. Effort must be the choice, because, when I really consider it carefully, it is actually the only choice that exists.
Moving on...
Symposium. This of course meant company, crammed schedule, and that I got to see some dear faces for the first time in a year, for some it had been more. Sadly, I did not get to attend very much this year, and class preempted the two lectures I most wanted to observe. But there was gemütlichkeit and the usual cheery meeting of friends that surrounds this event every year. Hmm. Interesting tidbit that came out was the possibility of having one of this year's HT conferences at Vanderbilt. I would have to attend that. Just watch, in thirty years, George might be Fosco. He beams, bounces lightly, and schmoozes well enough.
I guess that there is one more massive event that occurred while my computer cord was lost--did I not mention I lost the cord...oh well--that would be the election of Scott Brown to the Senate. I don't think it need be reiterated how monumental this was. The election of Mr.Brown to a district that hadn't even seen a serious republican campaign in thirty years is astonishing; that he did so with the President, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader campaigning for his opponent just adds to the statement. This happened for one reason; those pushing for a bureaucratization of health-care did not realize just how bitterly unpopular such a step is. When registered democrats turn out in droves to vote for a republican, you know that they mean business.
Something needs to be understood by those who are the architects of these plans; they work for the voting populace. When they say no to a program, it is fine to respond with "but it is good for you." However, when the boss remains adamant that your proposal is not acceptable, you do not go behind his back and try to broker the deal anyway. Those who follow this course of action get fired. Congressional representatives need to realize that they are there to execute the will of the people, as long as the will of the people is in accordance with the constitution. The House was to be the direct representative of the people. The Senate was to be a more contemplative and unchanging body. The House was to present the desire of the people, the Senate was to see to the moderation of that desire. Of course, along came bribery and corruption which destroyed the senate as it should have been, in response we did the only thing that made sense at the time, now we have two houses of representatives and no true senate.
Wow, am I all over the place today or what?
The point is that the people are stirred. Mass communication gives access to the dishonesty and conceit of our politicians as we have never had before. These politicians just happen to be on the receiving end of our displeasure at having found their duplicity. I think I have to give majority credit for this victory to Glenn Beck. He took the normally impotent and ineffective populace and armed them with ugly truth. He replaced the voices of pundits who 'the folks' used to turn to; the broken records who went on and on without saying anything of substance. Strident terriers like Hannity, hateful and evil loons like Savage are now obsolete, as they should have been some time ago. I appreciate Glenn because he is not a party hack and he is always, first and foremost, about honesty and following the proper protocol in the governance of our nation. Corruption thrives in the midst of chaos. When all things are done according to the rules, there can be no place for deviance. The first requirement for a government to be just, is for a government to be orderly. The rules are there, Beck is just pointing out when they are being broken.
A last random thing that I picked up that deserves note as it challenges, rightly, the notion that power corrupts. It is not the power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Instead, it is that power shows character and absolute power shows character absolutely. Easy enough to say that you would never take the power to do what you wished, push through the legislation that you wished, helped the people you wanted to help at another person's expense. You have never had to face the temptation, and neither have I, but I don't think we could resist it.
Ah, the things we learn while studying political theory...
I dearly wish my line of reasoning, in relation to my own academic, career, could run parallel to yours. For the past years I have nursed the ideal that college is, should be about the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom first and everything else second, but this ideal is beaten back at every turn, at every possible level. It's not the core that's rotten out; the dull truth of the ubiquity of credit and grades is nowhere more than thinly veiled. Most of the students know this and nearly all of the professors do, and though they make a habit of acting otherwise, when you come to the heart of things you are lucky if they care whether you retain any of the information they present, let alone comprehend it.
ReplyDeleteThus I too am at a war with myself, and both sides find themselves weakened at their frequent battles. If I am assigned Plato to read, and I find that I must read the page thrice to understand it, then I must recall my mission, must look to the all-important exams, and push aside the text; I would like to read it, but better leave it to when I can give it some time and think about it. Once through will suffice for the class—or more likely, I'll leave it unread and carry out my classwork on intuition, because I am a slow reader, and because there is not any level of my academic experience that does not advise me, in some number of words, that dishonesty is the order of the day (barring plagiarism).
For that reason it is difficult. Because I have a short enough attention span, and very little stamina when it comes to being someone I am not; deceit of this kind comes to me easily only for a little while, and then it is agonizing. But, I persevere, and look forward to breaks, when I can do some reading and actually learn some things.
Dear God, that we could all write with the clarity and subtlety of Nathaniel....
ReplyDeleteYou have been at this rather longer than I have, so we will have to see, I may end up a bit jaded yet. But for now I will see to absorbing the knowledge and hope the grades fall into place and that my stamina improves.
Bartky (yes, you will hear that name a lot now) stated at the beginning of his class that the American education, elementary, high, and university, have been twisted into a massive job training program. We are being taught to be good employees. Not good citizens, nor good human beings, they are training workers.
I am a good worker; I am my father's son, after all. However, I have spent my life surrounded by intelligent people who consider things deeply and always know who they are and what they believe. Even you, Nat, young though you may be, always seem to address things with reason and logic, which ability I admit to coveting greatly.
I am quick and draw strong connections. But there is no way I would consider myself deep. I make snap judgments, toy with sophistries, catch causes and effects, but I always feel like I am skimming over the surface of my topics. This is exactly what I hope to address at college. I never expect to extend my ADD attention span, but I hope to at least address some of my illogical and reflexive tendencies.
Plus, you must not forget that I intend to be an officer, at least for a time, and that I have no illusions of having a family anytime soon. Add to which fact that I, a 19 year old male who should be girl crazy, have not even had a crush on anyone since I was 14...I do not see myself becoming romantically attached anytime soon.
I see my immediate financial future for myself as secure and I am, in all probability, less likely to have a family in the next 5 years. I think we are coming from different viewpoints, with my viewpoint allowing me to be a little more self centered in my concerns.
I respect what you're looking for at college, and I feel it's likely you'll find it, are already finding it. Actually, I'm merely complaining; to my knowledge, my experience has been almost opposite that of most people (by which I don't mean merely the statistical masses, but the reports gained from the many people I've spoken with, my family and friends and classmates). I am simply complaining about my own tendencies, and on the other hand about the fact that the trend you mentioned of colleges training workers rather than thinkers is by now almost completely unabashed.
ReplyDeleteI don't enjoy acting jaded, but I feel guilty acting any other way. For me to maintain my standard optimism under present circumstances would itself be insincere. I look at what I'm getting from college: very little, and why I'm going: I'm going because— well, because I can't think of anything better/more logical to do— but specifically I'm going in the hopes that I can find some occupation which can reliably support a family and which I am capable of doing. Like you, I see that from a certain viewpoint the most logical direction is a high-paying one, like medicine, and like you I have rejected this, because my goal is not to make as much money as possible (and while we're at it, I'm sure it's beyond my ability).
Superficially I suppose your concerns are more self-centered than mine, but that argument won't hold up, as your life plan, such as I understand it, aims (as all plans should; as I hope mine does) for the glorification of God and the serving of your neighbor.
Pre-med is hardly the way to money.
ReplyDelete