A Tale of Two Worlds
More and more, the world seems to be divided into the free and independent thinkers on one side, and those being told what to think by the Big Brothers in the media, schools, universities, unions and “Democratic” Party on the other.
Unless one is firmly entrenched in some institutional affiliation, it is difficult to impossible to maintain the “party” discipline. If one is in that system however, one sees nothing wrong with some members of their party being paid twice as much for the same work -- or more accurately, being paid twice as much for doing nothing.
So while all the fuss is made about how much the new beginning teacher's salaries will be among the highest in the nation, what is conspicuously overlooked, is that those with the easiest jobs will be paid twice as much -- for those “seniority” privileges, validating the right of the most entrenched to exploit the newest members -- who haven’t been as thoroughly indoctrinated in those injustices.
We could pay the beginning teacher's even more, if we paid all the teachers the same, instead of paying those with the easiest jobs, the most -- thereby institutionalizing unfairness and exploitation of the few over the many.
In the negotiations, emphasis will be entirely on what the lowest paid are receiving -- because of the exploitation of the highest. It will be argued that seniority implies a greater competence when that can not be proven because those are usually not even on the front line jobs but have moved into "educational administrative" positions. Finally, they will resort to their only argument that it is payment for “loyalty” -- of maintaining the status quo -- of inequity and "socially approved and politically correct" exploitation.
In the other world, there is no entrenched entitlement for selecting unquestioning loyalty as the singular virtue -- and so merit must play a bigger role. One can see it in the appearances of the people involved in those two worlds of different survival realities: one must remain sensitive and adaptable to change and new challenges, while the other, in their comfortable lifetime sinecures become increasingly fat, lazy and unresponsive, even resistive to change and challenge.
Their days are measured in the number of Cheetos consumed for that day -- to mark the passing of time in unvariable and interminable boredom. A few, realizing this fate early on, will break free -- into life on the other side.
A few will align themselves with the Republican Party, but far more will remain fiercely independent and rebellious against any group-think. Learning how to mobilize that army of independents is the skill the Republicans have to master -- rather than hoping to out-Democrat the Democrats. That is one vision of the future -- that is the fulfillment of a “more perfect society” -- and not just greater loyalty, to increasing inequality and inequity -- under the guise of being a “democrat.”
posted by Mike Hu @ 8:07 AM
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2 Comments:
Information is the New Education
Do we really need education anymore -- when there is instant, easy access to information? What little education thus needed, is simply how to access the rest of the information -- rather than that it needs to be spoon-fed to every individual to insure that they only get the “right” information.
That is the crux of the great challenge in the age of abundant information -- that nobody can enforce their exclusive correctness anymore. A few think that’s a bad thing, but for the majority of the people and all consumers of information, that is overwhelmingly a good thing -- especially since the information is no longer exclusively controlled by those who stand to profit the most from propagating their version of the truth -- exclusively and monopolistically.
That is obviously tempting to the overtly partisan parties but eventually challenges the status quo of even the most unquestionably esteemed institutions of our society -- which are presently, the media, schools and universities, the last bastions still insisting they are the unbiased guardians of the “objectivity.”
Or are they? Even if they were not deliberately biased, they may think as even the most enlightened do, that what they know, is all that can be known -- rather than that it is simply “what they know,” and presume, is all there is to know.
In a time when information was scarce and checking claims were difficult and made difficult if not impossible, hierarchies of information and esteemed, unquestionable authorities could be maintained -- and few had the confidence, courage, and resources to launch an investigation, much less a challenge to these appropriated authorities.
Obviously, something changed that world of information (reality) -- which was the old education, and that was merely the questioning of authority. Was there not even a higher authority, than the “credentials,” of those in authority? That of course, is truth -- and what is. That is the scientific method -- and not simply, who said so.
Some societies are quicker to pick that up and change for the better, while many more traditional societies will insist that whatever has been true in the past, is good enough to remain true for all time -- and one should have no notions of introducing anything else. All that has been known, is all that is necessary to know -- and there is no time and room for anything more, because the oldest knowledge, must remain intact and inviolable.
Those are the traditional societies that are proud of their age-old problems of human nature. That is the way it has been, is, and will be for all time -- regardless of the changes that may impact more susceptible mentalities elsewhere (sic).
For people living in such cultures, “fitness” is the ability to resist change, and that is what their conditioning (education), has been -- this indoctrination that can never change, no matter what. That is who they are, and must be.
Traditional Education IS the Problem
If it is not clear by now, it should be -- that the traditional education that may have once been the solution to ignorance in society, is now the leading cause of ignorance in society -- because it prepares us to “live” in a time and place that no longer exists, when really, what would be immensely beneficial, is learning to live better and fully, in these unprecedented times.
The future is not simply a projection and continuation of the past -- but a quantum leap from it, and so preparing oneself to adapt to that past (that is not understood very well in the first place and is largely myth), conditions one to an unreality -- while the simple and obvious reality merely needs to be embraced with an uncluttered and unprejudiced mind. That is a mind that is simply attentive or aware of what is going on -- rather than knowing all the explanations and rationalizations of what they think is going on.
A mind in that state of presence, can solve any problem -- because it does not accept the problem, as the way it must be, and can consider all the ways it can be -- without preference to the tradition that is now the great problem. But problems create a justification for many jobs -- to “solve” them, but realizing that it would eliminate their jobs, the new objective becomes to perpetuate the problems indefinitely and make them grow worse -- as we see in our educational institutions. They do not eliminate or reduce ignorance and incompetence, but merely create the need for more education -- creating more higher-paying jobs for professionals in that field.
The powerful counterculture, has actually become industries that eliminate themselves -- BECAUSE they are so successful. They eliminate the need for that job entirely! -- and then go on to eliminate a subsequent more obvious problem, while on the other hand, the "unsolvable" problems of the human condition we are convinced can never change, are institutionalized, with honorific titles and impressive lifetime security packages for its perpetuators.
Many fields also operate in this manner, including fields enabling extended life spans while doing nothing to improve the quality of that life. That is most commonly seen in sick people who live much longer -- rather than that sick and people in poor condition, should not be that way, reducing the need for that external support system and concern. Any honest doctor would admit that 90% of health ills are behaviors individuals could do for themselves -- with just the proper knowledge of their condition, and cause and effect.
So of course, misinformation and undermining confidence in one’s observations and judgments, is a large part of that industry. Fortunately, there is a healthy prototype -- of what has happened in technology -- of which use, implies the understanding. That is, that it is not necessary to know the explanation to act properly, if one can simply identify credible information -- from any source, as it is likely, that information provided from the duly certified one, may serve the professional interest more than the consumer’s.
This is the great problem today of “professionalism” -- in which anything done for the money, is the only ethic.
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