Well it's literally been about 2 months since I've posted on the good old site. School got absolutely insane and I ended up dropping this right when I was actually starting to get some serious hits.
What's important, is that I'm back. Right?
So here I am, back to posting. Of course I'm pleased with the election results, but I have a warning for the GOP and for the American who is currently feeling hopeful; No victory has been won yet.
I suppose politically speaking that the above comment is inaccurate. Yet the battle which must be fought and must be won is for logic and reason to be reestablished here in America. The thing I revere more than anything in life is truth. I believe in absolutes. I believe that every single shade of gray that exists, with enough digging, thinking, and researching, can be classified as black or white. I do not believe in apologies to those who do not want to respect truth and are offended when they hear it.
When I started this blog 3 months ago I was just starting out here at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The contempt shown for America on a consistent basis, or statements like "99.9% of the world's problems can be attributed to England!" run rampant. Students wear US Army Alpha blouses as style statements, and third world countries are consistently spoken of as the ones that have systems which "make more sense" and have things "figured out better than we do." Other than the belief in God, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and former President Bush, nothing is actually classified as right or wrong. (Yes, the above things are classified as wrong...)
Today one of my professor's told a story in which she spoke with a parent of one of her former high school students. Without going into details, the professor was basically saying how she handled the situation poorly. She pointed out things logically to which the parent responded with superficial bumper sticker type statements. Yet the professor told this to us, saying how she had goofed up and how the parent had handled herself so well.
I raised my hand. I asked her why she was telling the story with an apologetic tone when she used reason and only received platitudes in response. The professor wasn't exactly sure how to respond, but told me that she was lucky the parent didn't hit her or something like that. So basically, in the years since her story took place, the professor has succumbed to political correctness.
There is a disease in this country which does have a cure. In Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged a progressive makes a comment about how "the age of the mind is past. This is the age of the heart." This revolting philosophy is ruining us as a civilization. Certainly I believe in "having a heart," yet it isn't for free. It's for those who have earned it. Yet this anti-mind disease is taking over. It is making us sick. Students and professors alike are refusing to use logic. Reason is frowned upon while inability is looked at as an asset. Successful marriages that provide a good home life for children are mocked, while single parent and dysfunctional homes are praised and romanticized.
There is a cure for the anti-mind disease. The cure is patriotism. With love of country, which most liberals and progressives lack, comes the desire to improve it. To improve one must think. To think, people will rely on their minds and discard the constant use of the heart.
I can't agree with you more about how not enough people appreciate logic and reason. It seems like you're trying to connect people who "think with their head" and people who "think with their heart" as being conservatives and liberals, respectively. I really see the opposite.
ReplyDeleteRegarding this election cycle, the Republican and Tea Party candidates were absolutely anti-intellectual. I don't think one can call themselves a lover of logic and reason unless you also love science and the scientific method. The one thing that has taught humans about their world more than any holy book. Through observation and deduction, we learned about the scale of the universe and an atom, we discovered math, rules of physics, and we can do so much more.
Now these conservatives are the same candidates that are looking to slash the education and science budgets. They want to give money to promote religious education. Their textbooks are 2000 years out of date.
Do they not realize that a country who can move into space and colonize other planets a strong country. What about a country with the best computer scientists? No country could infiltrate our military headquarters.
I don't believe that a country educated by the Bible and millions soldiers is the most secure country. We can do better than that. We can fund the best education system in the world if we wanted to, but we don't.
I don't think that the cure for the "anti-mind" disease is patriotism. That's like trying to cure cancer by thinking good thoughts. You need to go in and correct the problem: why don't people appreciate scientific and factual reasoning based on proven facts? They much be taught critical thinking skills. Question everything, demand evidence, read, wonder, discover.
The bible is a mindless romp compared with the truth you can find in a science textbook. The Bible has predicted nothing so far, science has, time and again, predicted the nature of the universe with incredible accuracy. If this can excite kids, they'd learn to love reason and logic.
I figured I should give this some thought before banging out just a quick response. While there are certain things I agree with you on, there are more that I disagree with.
ReplyDeleteAfter rereading my blog post, I'm not sure where your assumptions that I advocate using a "2000 year old textbook" are coming from. In fact, the only spiritual mention in the post was when I referred to professors and students consistently bashing God. Other than that, Christianity, or spirituality of any kind for that matter, really did not come up.
I can't pretend to know a lot about science or math. I've always been more of a history and literature type of guy. That being said, when I took physical and historical geology it raised a lot of questions for me. I was always an adamant creationist...now I'm not so 100% sure. However, what I did learn by studying Geology, with some Biology and some physics, (yes, I'm that guy who read "A Brief History of Time" and then wouldn't shut up about how fascinating it was at parties for the next two months,)was that I believe in a creator more than ever before.
I guess what I'm saying here is this: there are plenty of conservatives like myself who are all for science and math. Last spring I literally spent hours in the math lab getting help and tutoring, and I truly feel it changed me. I've never been able to look at the concept of zeros or infinities the same since. It was truly amazing. Yet to call the Bible a "mindless romp" is a bit harsh.
As I already said, I really wasn't even posting this in defense of Christianity. Yet the name calling that the left constantly slings when referring to the Bible is an example of the intolerance I see on a daily basis at both colleges I've attended so far.
You say you don't think the cure is patriotism. You go on to say that we need to "go in and correct the problem." That is patriotism! Since Hollywood and such has made people think that patriotism is some cornball shouting "USA USA USA" or a guy with a mullet wearing a Jesus t-shirt, people forget what patriotism really is. Using reason, logic and hard work to improve oneself and in turn the country is patriotism.
As a side note, as a conservative who is going into the teaching field, I understand the necessity of funding for education. Going back to the first paragraph of my post when I said "no victory has been won yet" goes in hand with this. I consider myself conservative, yet I don't blindly follow someone because they have an R next to their name. This is one of those times I'm sure some conservatives would not agree with me. We need to stop pouring money into prisons, the DEA, the ATF, and welfare, and put that money into 5 things:
1. Education
2. The Military, CIA, DOD, Homeland Security and such
3. Roads and bridges
4. Any type of program that gets kids out of abusive homes
5. Social Security. I'm not a fan of the system but since so many have paid into it, there is no justification in not paying people back.
Really glad to hear you liked "A Brief History of Time". You should check out "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Amazing book. It'll have you reacting the same way.
ReplyDeleteRegarding what I said about religion, It really is another matter aside from your post. When I think about the modern GOP, I can't separate its leaders (even more so with the Tea Party) from the Bible.
When I hear people talk about Patriotism, it is usually related to military spending. I wish people would invoke patriotism when talking about education spending and healthcare. Seriously, how great can a country become when people are healthy and intelligent? I think privatized healthcare and a lack of education funding has failed us.
I guess stereotypes succeed in you imagining me imagine a patriot as a hick. I really just think people use the term too loosely. I personally think that the voices of the Republican party have hijacked the word for themselves and their policies. It's as if liberal ideas cannot be patriotic.
One of the least patriotic things to do (which the house and senate love to do) is be partisan. Reasoned debates between people who care about the country are patriotic.
Remember to check out that book if you get a chance. It's mind blowing.
I was also curious what your thoughts are on Ayn Rand's atheism.
ReplyDelete