who we are now
Long ago, far away, the hope for a future included the hope for heaven. Nowadays the culture I live in looks for heaven only on earth, and the 'yearning for' in our souls is mostly a yearning for images and experiences. In earlier ages, there was a greater yearning for belief and ideals (Schudson, Michael. Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion: Its Dubious Impact on American Society. 1984. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 209-233).
Not that beliefs and ideals are dead in the culture. One of my sons is especially committed to an activist/anarchist community culture. But even there, the fascination (or obsession) with images and experiences is great. He works hard to contribute to the graphical presentation of the struggle. (Schudson has some really interesting things to day about socialist realist art.)
My other sons are devoted to academia, and we might think there the culture would be like a star leading the pilgrim to ideas, if not ideals and beliefs. But today there was a report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce that recommends higher education focus much more on equipping students for specific careers.
So the whittling away of liberal arts education (teaching students to think critically and communicate effectively and creatively) is rampant today.* The love of learning that leads to wisdom is a rare, incidental outcome, rather than a prevailing and essential value. Instead, the hope of a diploma qualifying the student for a career that provides a comfortable livelihood captures their imaginations. All along the way, images of that comfortable future fill their mind's eye, and spark their hopes.
The mind's eye. The mind's I. Instead of deeply held beliefs.
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*The comments on the article are hopeful, if the report is not.
Not that beliefs and ideals are dead in the culture. One of my sons is especially committed to an activist/anarchist community culture. But even there, the fascination (or obsession) with images and experiences is great. He works hard to contribute to the graphical presentation of the struggle. (Schudson has some really interesting things to day about socialist realist art.)
My other sons are devoted to academia, and we might think there the culture would be like a star leading the pilgrim to ideas, if not ideals and beliefs. But today there was a report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce that recommends higher education focus much more on equipping students for specific careers.
So the whittling away of liberal arts education (teaching students to think critically and communicate effectively and creatively) is rampant today.* The love of learning that leads to wisdom is a rare, incidental outcome, rather than a prevailing and essential value. Instead, the hope of a diploma qualifying the student for a career that provides a comfortable livelihood captures their imaginations. All along the way, images of that comfortable future fill their mind's eye, and spark their hopes.
The mind's eye. The mind's I. Instead of deeply held beliefs.
_____________________________
*The comments on the article are hopeful, if the report is not.
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