In the year 2525....
The loss of a " great books" orientation among the young (and old) -
without foundational knowledge, how can anyone really understand the world? The great thinkers of the past gave us great books/ ideas, which changed the world. No one reads these books anymore-
John Locke, Stuart Mill, a misinterpreted Nietzsche, the 20th century relativists Isiah Berlin and Rorty.....their thought overtook academia after World War two... resulting in the loss of the struggle between good and evil- which was replaced with idle pursuits along the pain/pleasure calculus-
Freud, Weber, and others... molded the second half of the past century until a revolt against racism and the Vietnam War produced Derrida and Deconstruction theory. Youth embraced a fake rebellion which derided the achievement of "dead white men..." Pop music causes young people to imagine that they are rebels, yet their musical idols themselves mindlessly obey their managers, producers, and other capitalist bosses.
Incidentally,"dead white men" designed, invented and built* : most electrical power appliances and lighting, automobiles, the internet,vaccines, plastics, modern surgical techniques, modern indoor plumbing/flush toilets , computers, washing machines, clothes dryers, double- entry bookkeeping, air conditioners, central heating, submarines,helicopters, life vests,telephones, elevators, steam engines, airplanes, parachutes, baseball, block printing presses*,antibiotics, satellites, radio and stereos, electric guitars, cameras,the film industry, VCR's and DVD players*, television, microscopes, telescopes, MRI',roads, ball point pens, The Homeric Odyssey*, Shakespeare's plays, the bicycle,due process and our Bill of Rights ,the Golden Gate bridge, parliamentary procedure*, constitutions, democracy, soap, violins and fiddles, the arch, showers, our modern calendar, locks and keys, cement and concrete, numeric zero*, and probably the agricultural plough.
Smithian/Lockean ideology fed the modern relativist current- the idea that elightened self- interest could produce a merchantile paradise....crashed in a heap in 1929. Basic capitalism could never bring the majority an enlightened prosperity, due mainly to its trend toward monopoly and inherent exploitive nature.
The loss of absolute concepts of right and wrong-the loss of the primacy of the thought of Plato, Aristotle, the Hebrew Bible...has created a nihilistic void within people, a void from which they think they can extricate themself if they embrace inauthentic politics, plastic cash, and newfangled technology. We salute myths- the almighty dollar, the self-made man...
Individuals are losing touch with humanity- ATM's deprive one of face-to face contact...so do pre-paid automatic toll booths (dumb tags)...online shopping...machines check out our groceries. The human factor has been reduced- where is all of this dehumanization heading?
What is especially frightening is that the younger generation, born into this increasingly dehumanized world- this is all they know, they think it's normative... they dont remember the days before endless gadgets and how simpler things were.
Weimar Germany experienced this same void in the 1920's- look what happened to them in the 30-40's.
I know sometimes I sound like a fuddy reactionary cracker-if you knew me in person you would know that this is not the case- far from it. I am just trying to put some balance in the equation-the excessive bending over backwards to accommodate the social justice movements have vulgarized and distorted the past.
The double standard must end. If a black compiles a list of black achievements, he is generally applauded for showing pride in his heritage. If a white makes a list of white accomplishments, he is easily labeled a racist. If I were black I would spit in the eye of anyone who patronized me. "Kissing ass" makes the kissee look down on the kisser. Most blacks despise most white liberals.
Do you want to know why the Soviet Union failed? They were more disciplined they we were, they were tougher, they were just as smart....they failed because they did not have faith.
without foundational knowledge, how can anyone really understand the world? The great thinkers of the past gave us great books/ ideas, which changed the world. No one reads these books anymore-
John Locke, Stuart Mill, a misinterpreted Nietzsche, the 20th century relativists Isiah Berlin and Rorty.....their thought overtook academia after World War two... resulting in the loss of the struggle between good and evil- which was replaced with idle pursuits along the pain/pleasure calculus-
Freud, Weber, and others... molded the second half of the past century until a revolt against racism and the Vietnam War produced Derrida and Deconstruction theory. Youth embraced a fake rebellion which derided the achievement of "dead white men..." Pop music causes young people to imagine that they are rebels, yet their musical idols themselves mindlessly obey their managers, producers, and other capitalist bosses.
Incidentally,"dead white men" designed, invented and built* : most electrical power appliances and lighting, automobiles, the internet,vaccines, plastics, modern surgical techniques, modern indoor plumbing/flush toilets , computers, washing machines, clothes dryers, double- entry bookkeeping, air conditioners, central heating, submarines,helicopters, life vests,telephones, elevators, steam engines, airplanes, parachutes, baseball, block printing presses*,antibiotics, satellites, radio and stereos, electric guitars, cameras,the film industry, VCR's and DVD players*, television, microscopes, telescopes, MRI',roads, ball point pens, The Homeric Odyssey*, Shakespeare's plays, the bicycle,due process and our Bill of Rights ,the Golden Gate bridge, parliamentary procedure*, constitutions, democracy, soap, violins and fiddles, the arch, showers, our modern calendar, locks and keys, cement and concrete, numeric zero*, and probably the agricultural plough.
Smithian/Lockean ideology fed the modern relativist current- the idea that elightened self- interest could produce a merchantile paradise....crashed in a heap in 1929. Basic capitalism could never bring the majority an enlightened prosperity, due mainly to its trend toward monopoly and inherent exploitive nature.
The loss of absolute concepts of right and wrong-the loss of the primacy of the thought of Plato, Aristotle, the Hebrew Bible...has created a nihilistic void within people, a void from which they think they can extricate themself if they embrace inauthentic politics, plastic cash, and newfangled technology. We salute myths- the almighty dollar, the self-made man...
Individuals are losing touch with humanity- ATM's deprive one of face-to face contact...so do pre-paid automatic toll booths (dumb tags)...online shopping...machines check out our groceries. The human factor has been reduced- where is all of this dehumanization heading?
What is especially frightening is that the younger generation, born into this increasingly dehumanized world- this is all they know, they think it's normative... they dont remember the days before endless gadgets and how simpler things were.
Weimar Germany experienced this same void in the 1920's- look what happened to them in the 30-40's.
I know sometimes I sound like a fuddy reactionary cracker-if you knew me in person you would know that this is not the case- far from it. I am just trying to put some balance in the equation-the excessive bending over backwards to accommodate the social justice movements have vulgarized and distorted the past.
The double standard must end. If a black compiles a list of black achievements, he is generally applauded for showing pride in his heritage. If a white makes a list of white accomplishments, he is easily labeled a racist. If I were black I would spit in the eye of anyone who patronized me. "Kissing ass" makes the kissee look down on the kisser. Most blacks despise most white liberals.
Do you want to know why the Soviet Union failed? They were more disciplined they we were, they were tougher, they were just as smart....they failed because they did not have faith.
posted by Zero at 3:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home