[MD] Drama

[Arlo Bensinger]

SA, Platt, Marsha

[SA]
Universities and colleges are removed from society.  Their practice is not 
highly applicable to a cross-over from the world of books and teachers to 
the  world of you must do it yourself noticing the conditions of today's 
culture.

[Arlo]
I find this more a criticism of "today's culture" than "universities and 
colleges". When "the world of books" is seen as irrelevant or incongruous 
with "the world of what you do", the problem lies not in those that 
continue to adhere to learning, but those that find pursuing money and 
material accumulation to be of a "higher order".

Let me remind you what Pirsig said of the Academy. "The real University is 
a state of mind. It is that great heritage of rational thought that has 
been brought down to us through the centuries and which does not exist at 
any specific location. It's a state of mind which is regenerated throughout 
the centuries by a body of people who traditionally carry the title of 
professor, but even that title is not part of the real University. The real 
University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself." (ZMM)

Now, to various degrees, it is certainly to be critical of the policies and 
path of the "brick and mortar" buildings (metaphorically) in which the 
Academy often resides. As such, one could point immediately to the 
"business" model of education that has mostly replaced the notion of 
"liberal arts" education. This "Academy" is fast becoming a large trade 
school, concerned mostly with profit, expansion, rankings and fundraising. 
It accepts too many people, and caters its degrees to meet with "jobs". 
What is not seen as a "job skill" is relegated to "elective" in the 
curriculum. Thus, engineers learn math, physics, engineering and all the 
skills required to "do their job". But are woefully inadequate in art, 
theatre, literature, history, politics, etc. (traditionally, "the humanities").

[SA]
I'm speaking very generally on this topic, but in the end, what you go to 
college or university for must equal 'how much $ will you be able to make 
in order to survive'.

[Arlo]
Which is exactly NOT for what the Academy exists. "Making money" has been 
thrust upon us as the ultimate goal of human activity. Evidence of this 
exists, as you point out, precisely because the Academy's ranks are flooded 
with those there primarily to earn bucks. It is a standing joke among many 
that a "philosophy degree" is useless (maybe Ant can attest to hearing this 
as well). "Useless" because the measure of quality of "degrees" is the 
salary-level of the jobs available to you.

[Platt]
To a large extent, I agree [with SA, above]. If nothing else it takes a 
load of $ to pay for a degree. The degree in turn will help you earn the $ 
needed to pay for it. Another case of the snake eating its tail.

[Arlo]
While its hardly surprising that a right-wing ideologue vilifies the 
Academy, you've hit on a serious tangental issue. Why does it cost "loads 
of $" to pay for a degree?

[Platt]
Add to that the utter failure of the public school monopoly and you have 
the makings of a collapse such as you witness every day at your reform school.

[Arlo]
Love the talking point, "public school monopoly". For those on the fence 
with reading Lakoff, it is this type of dialogic reframing he discusses. 
Maybe when we are finally able to read the upcoming book on Dewey and 
Pirsig, our dialogue on education will be enriched.

[Marsha]
The American public seems overly stressed and ill-informed as a result of 
meaner,  stupider leadership.  I listen to the Washington Journal on 
C-SPAN  which includes lots of public participation.  The last few months, 
it  seems that both Dems and Reps are reviving from their 9/11 shock.  And 
they are getting really angry at such an incompetent and
corrupt government.  The problem is that government failure can still pull 
us into an age of darkness.  I'm hoping for a period of great humiliation 
from the past few years of gross hubris.  From that maybe we can return to 
a path of being a good country.

[Arlo]
These effects are the inevitable end-result of the gross dichotomization 
that has occurred in this country. The "my team all good, your team all 
evil" mentality that has swept modern political discourse has resulted in a 
severe fracturing of dialogue, noticebly in the media channels and 
information outlets. The "right" only accepts information as filtered and 
manipulated by right-wing ideologues. The "left" has fallen prey to this as 
well. The two sides can no longer speak, because both sides believe the 
other's information to be "distorted propaganda" and theirs to be "fair and 
balanced". The "other" is vilified and demonized. "Boogeymen" are offered 
as distractions, and we bite because that which plays to our fear is more 
powerful than that which requires thought.

I, too, am hoping for a cultural Renaissance, but this will not occur under 
the current mercantilist norms, nor the politics of distraction we've 
embraced so strongly. All we will continue to get is more of the same. 
Politicians who have learned how to manipulate fear, and secure their power 
through "saving us from the nightmare", will continue to use this strategy 
so long as it works. Americans will continue to be more interested in 
shopping at Walmart than understanding the complexities of political-social 
historical activity. We will continue to find patting our patriotic backs 
and proclaiming our moral superiority to be greater than solving problems.

The slow drift back towards Victorianism continues.

[Marsha]
Let's say its one of those monastaries that makes wine or something, at least.

[Arlo]
And in Belgium, some of the best beer you'll ever enjoy.