RE: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
I agree with your comments about Hope’s messaging. I was disappointed in their current web presence when I looked. It was better in the past. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Centroids Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2018 5:22 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosophy.com> Subject: Re: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Hi Chris, Sent from my iPhone On Feb 13, 2018, at 16:03, Chris Hahn mailto:c...@2chahn.com> > wrote: I have been in many places that did not seem remotely magical, but I haven’t given up on believing that magical experiences can happen. Yeah, my comment was probably too cynical. :-/ What I should have said is that I believe magic requires design, nurture, and measurement to be sustained. I am concerned that if Hope can’t find a better way to articulate that magic to paying customers — not just alumni —- the pressure will build to cut corners on the “magic” in order to make the concrete numbers go up. I imagine trustees are supposed to prevent that, but it requires a deep understanding of what is sacred vs expedient. E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community mailto:RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Hi Chris, Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 13, 2018, at 16:03, Chris Hahn wrote: > I have been in many places that did not seem remotely magical, but I haven’t > given up on believing that magical experiences can happen. > Yeah, my comment was probably too cynical. :-/ What I should have said is that I believe magic requires design, nurture, and measurement to be sustained. I am concerned that if Hope can’t find a better way to articulate that magic to paying customers — not just alumni —- the pressure will build to cut corners on the “magic” in order to make the concrete numbers go up. I imagine trustees are supposed to prevent that, but it requires a deep understanding of what is sacred vs expedient. E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Ernie, >From what I know from nieces, nephews, etc., Hope is still providing a >“values” experience. They promote it to me in alumni literature. About believing in magic… I left Hope with idealism and the commitment to make the world a better place. I embarked on a path to do so. It has been a long and winding road with ups and downs, and I have been in many places that did not seem remotely magical, but I haven’t given up on believing that magical experiences can happen. I encouraged both of my kids to go to a small school like Hope. My son came the closest at Colorado School of Mines, but it didn’t provide him with the experiences I had at Hope. My daughter wanted to surf, so she graduated from University of Hawaii. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Centroids Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2018 4:46 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosoplphy.com> Subject: Re: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Hi Chris, Sent from my iPhone On Feb 12, 2018, at 21:39, Chris Hahn mailto:c...@2chahn.com> > wrote: I wasn’t promoting the website. In my rush out of town I did a shorthand posting of my experience at Hope. Those intangibles must be experienced to be believed. There are small oases out there. Ernie, I would encourage you to think small (college) for your children. Magic can happen in these settings. I don’t believe in magic anymore. I do love the idea of a small college, especially for my daughter. But I would like the college to be up front about its values, and what it is committing to provide. I am curious whether Hope is still a magical place, or the Magic is becoming subordinate to those numbers it proudly reports on the website... If we aren’t willing to be publicly accountable for our values, what good are they? E Chris -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community mailto:RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Hi Chris, Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 12, 2018, at 21:39, Chris Hahn wrote: > > I wasn’t promoting the website. In my rush out of town I did a shorthand > posting of my experience at Hope. Those intangibles must be experienced to > be believed. There are small oases out there. Ernie, I would encourage you > to think small (college) for your children. Magic can happen in these > settings. > I don’t believe in magic anymore. I do love the idea of a small college, especially for my daughter. But I would like the college to be up front about its values, and what it is committing to provide. I am curious whether Hope is still a magical place, or the Magic is becoming subordinate to those numbers it proudly reports on the website... If we aren’t willing to be publicly accountable for our values, what good are they? E > Chris -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
I wasn’t promoting the website. In my rush out of town I did a shorthand posting of my experience at Hope. Those intangibles must be experienced to be believed. There are small oases out there. Ernie, I would encourage you to think small (college) for your children. Magic can happen in these settings. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Centroids Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2018 8:58 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosophy.com> Subject: Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Hi Chris, On Feb 11, 2018, at 08:25, Chris Hahn mailto:c...@2chahn.com> > wrote: Take a look at https://hope.edu/. I would argue that small liberal arts colleges, especially those with a religious compass, do an excellent job of teaching culture, values, and skills for a happy life. On top of that, they provide solid pathways in the sciences and humanities. I dunno. The first page I saw was: https://hope.edu/about/index.html * 93% was in the workforce or graduate school within six months * 84% of those employed full-time are employed in their field of study * 91% participated in experiential learning Other than affirming their reformed theology, I didn’t see anything about values. Nothing about preparing people for healthy families and ministry. Was I looking in the wrong place? E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community mailto:RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Hope? I Re: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Hi Chris, > On Feb 11, 2018, at 08:25, Chris Hahn wrote: > > Take a look at https://hope.edu/. I would argue that small liberal arts > colleges, especially those with a religious compass, do an excellent job of > teaching culture, values, and skills for a happy life. On top of that, they > provide solid pathways in the sciences and humanities. I dunno. The first page I saw was: https://hope.edu/about/index.html 93% was in the workforce or graduate school within six months 84% of those employed full-time are employed in their field of study 91% participated in experiential learning Other than affirming their reformed theology, I didn’t see anything about values. Nothing about preparing people for healthy families and ministry. Was I looking in the wrong place? E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Ernie, Take a look at https://hope.edu/. I would argue that small liberal arts colleges, especially those with a religious compass, do an excellent job of teaching culture, values, and skills for a happy life. On top of that, they provide solid pathways in the sciences and humanities. Chris -Original Message- From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Centroids Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 11:08 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosophy.com> Subject: Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Hi Billy, > misunderstand one of the main purposes of education itself, teaching culture > to men and women, teaching the value of culture, and teaching the best values > we can identify for our lives. I completely agree. The problem is I have yet to find any educational institution that actually is serious about doing that. Does anybody define precisely which values they are going to teach? Do they measure how well they do? Where is the college that promises you the skills you need to live a happy life? Does anybody even offer courses on sexual integrity, budgeting, abuse of power, or any of the other issues that regularly destroy lives, families, and careers? Do you know any colleges where you would say, “gosh I wish I had their values?” Which is why geeks like me think those schools that talk about values are really just blowing smoke To avoid actually be accountable for anything. Really it seems to be about idolizing 18th century European culture and the hobbies of the idle rich... E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Values education Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Hi Billy, > misunderstand one of the main purposes of education itself, teaching culture > to men and women, teaching the value of culture, and teaching the best values > we can identify for our lives. I completely agree. The problem is I have yet to find any educational institution that actually is serious about doing that. Does anybody define precisely which values they are going to teach? Do they measure how well they do? Where is the college that promises you the skills you need to live a happy life? Does anybody even offer courses on sexual integrity, budgeting, abuse of power, or any of the other issues that regularly destroy lives, families, and careers? Do you know any colleges where you would say, “gosh I wish I had their values?” Which is why geeks like me think those schools that talk about values are really just blowing smoke To avoid actually be accountable for anything. Really it seems to be about idolizing 18th century European culture and the hobbies of the idle rich... E -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to radicalcentrism+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Billy, I haven’t seen Victoria, but I am sure that I would like it. It is interesting that you brought up classical music. While I grew up on Rock and Roll, I started developing an interest in classical music while working on my liberal arts degree as an undergrad. We now have season tickets at our remarkably talented Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and I probably listen to more classical music now than rock and roll. I am not sure of the significance, but I find it interesting. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 2:32 PM To: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Reply Chris: I think you are right, there is an element of elitism. Still, that may be a small part of the equation. Some people who are not the least elitist are also culture mavens. This was certainly true of many immigrant Jews of the first decades of the 20th century -and look where it got them, the top-o-the-heap. There also are those odd birds like Eric Hoffer, a longshoreman who wrote the best seller, The True Believer. If you have read this still very relevant book you know that Hoffer was dripping with high culture even though the book is a tour de force of political thinking and social psych. These days the best examples of the phenomenon are Asians, especially the Japanese and Chinese. Symphony orchestras remain viable in the USA and Europe but where "business is booming" is in Japan and China. Those countries now produce some of the world's best musicians of various kinds. And some of the world's premier classical music venues are located in places like Shanghai and Tokyo. America has seen the arrival of top notch baseball players from Japan, think Ichiro, for many years the star of the Seattle Mariners. But also think Seiji Ozawa, for many years the conductor of the Boston symphony. India has been in the picture too. Think Zubin Mehta, a Parsi, who has conducted orchestras of status around the world, in the USA, Europe, and lately Israel. Hell, nothing will replace quality jazz or quality Rock-n-Roll, but classical music can be and often is quality music like nothing else. Yes, the classical establishment needs its own house cleaning, the whole atonalist phenomenon of the past half century has been a huge mistake, IMHO, but reforms are possible and the sooner the better. What you said about a range of types of educational experience is very well taken. My years as a draftsman working side by side with architects and engineers taught me that, not counting experiences working with clients as a graphic artist and as s sign painter. In all such instances I would stress the value of something important to you, psychology. It all adds up. Indeed, we each need career skills; they are indispensable. Its just that we also need cultural knowledge, and need it badly. Have you seen any of the episodes of "Victoria" on PBS? I was impressed at how the queen, as part of her education, learned to be a top rate classical pianist. As did her husband, Prince Albert. And Albert, astute as he was as an art aficionado, was also a man ahead of his times in the technology of his era. OK, it is elitist to refer to the British aristocracy but, damn, that aristocracy stood for quality. Billy _ From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com <mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com> mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com> > on behalf of Chris Hahn mailto:c...@2chahn.com> > Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 12:50 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com <mailto:RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Subject: RE: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Great essay Billy! We have discussed before the value of a liberal arts education. Perhaps there is an elitist twist here because it is a luxury to be able to study the sciences along side classic literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, foreign languages, etc. I had this luxury and deeply appreciate it, it allowed me to think from a broad perspective. In turn, this allowed me careers in minerals exploration, spa products, software for the financial markets, mediation, and organizational facilitation. I wouldn’t trade this for a quick-track-to-a-well-paying-job approach, but I certainly understand the arguments in favor of such a pathway. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com <mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com> [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 3:24 AM To: Centroids Discussions mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com> > Cc: Billy Rojas <1bi
Re: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Reply Chris: I think you are right, there is an element of elitism. Still, that may be a small part of the equation. Some people who are not the least elitist are also culture mavens. This was certainly true of many immigrant Jews of the first decades of the 20th century -and look where it got them, the top-o-the-heap. There also are those odd birds like Eric Hoffer, a longshoreman who wrote the best seller, The True Believer. If you have read this still very relevant book you know that Hoffer was dripping with high culture even though the book is a tour de force of political thinking and social psych. These days the best examples of the phenomenon are Asians, especially the Japanese and Chinese. Symphony orchestras remain viable in the USA and Europe but where "business is booming" is in Japan and China. Those countries now produce some of the world's best musicians of various kinds. And some of the world's premier classical music venues are located in places like Shanghai and Tokyo. America has seen the arrival of top notch baseball players from Japan, think Ichiro, for many years the star of the Seattle Mariners. But also think Seiji Ozawa, for many years the conductor of the Boston symphony. India has been in the picture too. Think Zubin Mehta, a Parsi, who has conducted orchestras of status around the world, in the USA, Europe, and lately Israel. Hell, nothing will replace quality jazz or quality Rock-n-Roll, but classical music can be and often is quality music like nothing else. Yes, the classical establishment needs its own house cleaning, the whole atonalist phenomenon of the past half century has been a huge mistake, IMHO, but reforms are possible and the sooner the better. What you said about a range of types of educational experience is very well taken. My years as a draftsman working side by side with architects and engineers taught me that, not counting experiences working with clients as a graphic artist and as s sign painter. In all such instances I would stress the value of something important to you, psychology. It all adds up. Indeed, we each need career skills; they are indispensable. Its just that we also need cultural knowledge, and need it badly. Have you seen any of the episodes of "Victoria" on PBS? I was impressed at how the queen, as part of her education, learned to be a top rate classical pianist. As did her husband, Prince Albert. And Albert, astute as he was as an art aficionado, was also a man ahead of his times in the technology of his era. OK, it is elitist to refer to the British aristocracy but, damn, that aristocracy stood for quality. Billy From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com on behalf of Chris Hahn Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 12:50 PM To: RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures Great essay Billy! We have discussed before the value of a liberal arts education. Perhaps there is an elitist twist here because it is a luxury to be able to study the sciences along side classic literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, foreign languages, etc. I had this luxury and deeply appreciate it, it allowed me to think from a broad perspective. In turn, this allowed me careers in minerals exploration, spa products, software for the financial markets, mediation, and organizational facilitation. I wouldn’t trade this for a quick-track-to-a-well-paying-job approach, but I certainly understand the arguments in favor of such a pathway. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 3:24 AM To: Centroids Discussions Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosophy.com> Subject: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures The Problem of Two Cultures In my youth the "problem of two cultures" was understood as the humanities vs the sciences. Today the problem seems to be Silicon Valley vs Main Street, or Silicon Valley vs College Town. We finally have entered a long overdue time of techlash. Not that "computer thinking" is about to go the way of blacksmiths or buggy whips, that isn't remotely in the cards, but pontification by high tech "experts" is increasingly seen for what it really is, the voices of tech nerds promoting their vested interests. Sometimes the point of view expressed is also anti-intellectual and, in the bargain, obviously ill-informed. Not that changes in higher education aren't needed; they certainly are. Indeed, we need a revolution in higher ed, starting with kicking out maybe half of tenured liberal arts professors as dogmatic Leftists who are poisoning the minds of the young and not
RE: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures
Great essay Billy! We have discussed before the value of a liberal arts education. Perhaps there is an elitist twist here because it is a luxury to be able to study the sciences along side classic literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, foreign languages, etc. I had this luxury and deeply appreciate it, it allowed me to think from a broad perspective. In turn, this allowed me careers in minerals exploration, spa products, software for the financial markets, mediation, and organizational facilitation. I wouldn’t trade this for a quick-track-to-a-well-paying-job approach, but I certainly understand the arguments in favor of such a pathway. Chris From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Billy Rojas Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 3:24 AM To: Centroids Discussions Cc: Billy Rojas <1billyro...@buglephilosophy.com> Subject: [RC] [ RC ] Aptitude vs. Achievement / The Problem of Two Cultures The Problem of Two Cultures In my youth the "problem of two cultures" was understood as the humanities vs the sciences. Today the problem seems to be Silicon Valley vs Main Street, or Silicon Valley vs College Town. We finally have entered a long overdue time of techlash. Not that "computer thinking" is about to go the way of blacksmiths or buggy whips, that isn't remotely in the cards, but pontification by high tech "experts" is increasingly seen for what it really is, the voices of tech nerds promoting their vested interests. Sometimes the point of view expressed is also anti-intellectual and, in the bargain, obviously ill-informed. Not that changes in higher education aren't needed; they certainly are. Indeed, we need a revolution in higher ed, starting with kicking out maybe half of tenured liberal arts professors as dogmatic Leftists who are poisoning the minds of the young and not-so-young. However, to conceive of higher education as simply a matter of the demands of the job market is to misunderstand one of the main purposes of education itself, teaching culture to men and women, teaching the value of culture, and teaching the best values we can identify for our lives. A strictly vocational approach, as suggested by Strive Talent, has the huge disadvantage of privileging not the best that American culture can provide but whatever sets of ideas happen to be floating around society, from so-called pop culture, from Hollywood, from TV entertainment, from spoiled millionaire celebrities, from buffoons who happen to be rich, from comedians, from Right-wing radio, from Leftist Enviro-freaks, from Anarchists or from libertarians, from Wall Street, and you name it. But seldom from book lovers, from polymaths who are Renaissance men or women, from religious leaders, from smart-as-hell authors, from literary figures, and so forth. Yes, there are counter trends, C-Span's Book TV is a prime example, but far moreso than not, popular culture rules the roost. Usually this is a bad thing, not a good thing. I'm not some sort of stuffed shirt, sometimes pop culture can be refreshing, very creative, provocative in really good ways, but far too often it provides little more than c-r-a-p for our edification. Sure, I wanted to become an historian when I was a college student. But I also wanted to be cultivated, to be at home with people who like to discuss great literature, who enjoy Shakespeare, who have serious knowledge of the Bible and of classics that have given us our "deep heritage." I recall an afternoon in a park in Kelso, Washington, back in the 'nineties. I was listening to a recording of Beethoven's 9th symphony. A little boy was in the vicinity and he walked over an asked a question: "How come you have to listen to that kind of music?" Apparently he was raised in a family for whom Classical music was regarded as unpleasant, or no better than meaningless. Unlike my own family or the families of my best friends, where Classical music was regarded as unarguably the best music in existence. As a young man my friends included a would-be concert violinist, a very accomplished organist, a trumpet player, and so forth, and one friend had a father who was a concert baritone who, among other things, sang solos in annual performances of Handel's Messiah. I "discovered" philosophy at age 17. I had friends who made similar discoveries of their own by age 18 or 19 and one of the joys of college was to talk with other young people who also saw the value in critical thinking, in pursuing lines of reasoning, who had great curiosity about the great thinkers of history, including great thinkers in the realm of religious faith, viz, Aquinas or Schweitzer or Alan Watts the Buddhist scholar, manifestly not such simple minds as Billy Graham or other pop preachers. The point of all of this is that there is value in exploring meaning in
