How can every human being on the planet not spend their days being puzzled about pretty much everything?
Every day I ask myself questions like: How does that work? Why did that happen? Who was responsible for that? What was the purpose of that? Where did that come from? Constantly, one or more of the interrogatives – Who? What? Why? Where? When? – applied to the natural, political, built, mechanical, social worlds.
Can never remember a time when I wasn’t curious, puzzled, interested about the world around me. All children are I thought. But it seems many adults lose the curiosity. Seem to settle for a quiet intellectual life in which people they believe are authority figures tell them how things are, the way they are going to be, and they accept the propositions as given.
How else can you explain the willingness of the 99% to vote, in spite of conservative failures over 50 years or more, against their interests and elect neoconservative governments? How else can you explain the lack of action on climate change? How else explain the successful campaigns by rich miners (originally a typo almost had them as rich moners), by alcohol sellers, poker machine makers and clubs, developers, fishermen.
How else too can you explain the following of fundamentalist religions, of fake medical “cures” like homeopathy and naturopathy, of faith healers and “psychics”, of get rich quick schemes, of populist politicians.
And how else explain why we, the people, accept incuriously what the mainstream media tells us, asking no questions so told all lies. No one it seems is puzzled when they are told one thing one day, the opposite thing the next day; or when told about two identical actions by two political leaders, one of which is great the other abhorrent.
No one is puzzled when the ‘reasons’ given for starting a war turn out to be completely spurious; when behaviour said to be perfectly safe turns out disastrous; no one is puzzled that “We’ve always been at war with Eastasia”; no one thinks it odd that “The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation”.
Oh yes, quoting Orwell is so 1980s isn’t it? But it seems increasingly that not only are political parties and whole countries using it as a manual for controlling and manipulating the public, but so are the media. Think of just three aspects. Winston Smith’s job involves dealing with “unpersons”, people now deemed politically embarrassing, so he alters records, changes photographs, to ensure that the person has not just disappeared from modern awareness, but from history as well. Then, to fill a gap where the unperson once appeared he invents “Comrade Ogilvy, a fictional party member, who displayed great heroism by leaping into the sea from a helicopter so that the dispatches he was carrying would not fall into enemy hands”.
Finally of course the idea of our tv screens watching us hasn’t happened (although …), but the tabloid press tapping phones, going through rubbish bins, and governments using spy satellites and getting internet records means the sense of privacy, lost in “1984″, is rapidly being lost here.
Inner Party member O’Brien says that in the future “There will be no curiosity”. And he is right. The public it seems now have no curiosity. And therefore the media can create a fictional narrative, an alternative to reality, that people will simply accept as truth. And in that reality they will also accept what conservative political leaders tell them.
So, I hear you ask, what is the answer?
Well, you don’t need me to tell you, the answer is “education” of course, teach kids to question, not rote learn, to be curious … oh, sorry, no, can’t keep that up.
Do you think the Inner Party doesn’t know that? Why else have preschools been privatised, religious and other private schools been massively funded, public schools and teachers constantly attacked, demands always made for more “3 Rs” (plus trade courses) to be taught and none of this “contentious” stuff about climate change or politics, ethics classes attacked and religious ones (with “chaplains”) encouraged, all attempts to encourage thinking slammed as being brain washing by the Left? Why the call for kids to leave school early and get jobs? Why the determined defunding of universities, the encouragement to teach more business courses and less “Arts”, the push for private paying students, the defunding of student unions, the constant attacks on any political involvement by students, the constant attacks on university lecturers for being Left Wing?
The 1960s and 70s gave the Inner Party a big shock. This is what happens when children are taught to think in school and university and they were having no more of that. So they have thrashed the curiosity out of education (with the willing acquiescence of the Labor Party, also not keen to see too much curiosity about its own policies and behaviour).
So no, I don’t have an answer. Anyone for a job in the Ministry of Truth? Plenty available.
David, how do you keep it up – sitting in front of a keyboard long enough to get these thoughts onto the web?
When do you have the time to beat the bounds of your property – to pad through the grass and ensure you have no kangaroos loose in your top paddock? Obviously there are none – but, if I were so constrained, they would be cavorting everywhere.
But, back to the theme – yes I could not agree more that without an appropriate education, of the young and the not-so-young incorporating a fostering of sense of inquiry, the prospects of advancement for a more civilizing society are grim.
Thanks Colin, not up to much outside, the bounds beat me, so keyboard beating what I can do.
Because so many people will be happy with a comfortable lie, rather than an unpleasant fact would be my guess.
Think you are right – and welcome to the blog.
It’s frustrating, for sure.
I want so much to ‘educate’ friends and family when they regurgitate opinions fed to them by the mass media &/or their private (religious) school &/or their friends and family, who’ve been educated by the mass media &/or their private (religious) school &/or their friends and family…
But where to start? Preaching makes you a sanctimonious bore to be ignored. Gently engaging with issues takes time that interferes with their Facebook attention spans. Using humour is great if you’re a natural comedian and you know when to stop before you become said sanctimonious bore…
Who do we spend the most time with? Work colleagues. But, supposedly for harmony and anti-discrimination in the workplace, we can’t discuss religion or politics…except that the bozos at work who are happy regurgitators of the complex-made-simple don’t realise that their watertight opinions are often highly political &/or religious. Some of us don’t get protection from other’s offensive remarks.
Thankfully there are blogs like this, but try getting converts from the above-mentioned crowd (see ‘sanctimonious bore’ – not you, David, but anyone promoting such a blog or worthy websites or references or actual RESEARCH). Granted, people are often too busy surviving to question the whole artifice that seems to support them – or so they say… Even then, it’s all relative. Third world dissidents find the time to do just that, without the pressures of saving for a third car or a bigger home entertainment unit…blah blah blah…
A sense of humour is definitely an essential tool in the persuader’s repertoire. I know mine’s around here somewhere…
Hi Gruffbutt. Yes, and the really frustrating thing is those who get their views and “facts” from shockjocks and politicians like Abbott, see right wing opinions as being commonsense, left wing views as being radical. A mindset which has destroyed the ABC as a vehicle of objective information in recent years.
Dear Watermelon Man. I love your blog. And do keep ranting. It’s such a shame most of the people whose condition you (properly) seek to Improve – is there a hint of the Orwellian in that pursuit I wonder? – don’t actually give a shit. Until they do, all we can do is bleat,
Enough! Must away to do more of my own bleating. Keep up the good work.
Welcome Hector, and thank you.
As a perennially curious person, you may have overlooked one of the most important features of education. Not everybody is gifted with innate curiosity – in just the same way as intelligence or sporting talent or musical inclination or artistic perceptions are not equally given to all of us.
It introduces students whose natural inclinations are unimaginative or incurious to the notion that there are other ways of seeing things than what first comes to mind. Education can _create_ curiosity by introducing novel topics and also introducing ways of thinking about all topics that wouldn’t come easily to many people.
Education really can lead people to places they don’t expect.
Hi Adelady, that’s an interesting idea, teaching curiosity, and one I hadn’t thought of. If you are right it is a way out of the Orwellian impasse.
Hi David,
Things must be quite different in Australia from the US!
In the US, religious/private schools are not funded at all except personal funding (which is OK, rather keep the fed gov’t OUT of education), it is the public school students who have any “religious” beliefs that are constantly attacked BY the teachers and administrators, NO demands for the 3 R’s but rather “social engineering” of the students to replace morality with relativism, climate change and liberal/progressive politics abound, the only “thinking” a student is allowed to do is that which follows the party line of the education unions, and now our President wants to make a law against dropping out of school.
Our state universities are being staffed and funded to the point of state bankruptcy, university degrees are being awarded for gender studies and ethnic studies without a lot of emphasis on “hard science” courses, business courses are looked upon as capitalist oppression, and the constant attack BY university lecturers on anyone NOT left wing!
It seems like we have exact opposites for more than just seasons!
Somehow, I don’t trust your assessment of ‘social engineering’, Eric, having read your past posts, but, hey, I don’t live there. (It’s a term that is often bandied about here, as you could well imagine.)
If it’s true, as you say, that private schools receive no guvvie funding, that’s great, and the way it should be. If there’s a problem with content in public schools, that’s no reason to withdraw funding. That’s the argument people use here to give more money to private schools, i.e. private school better >>> why should my kids miss out on a better education because I can’t afford to send them there >>> fund the privates to keep down their fees and sod caring where the funding comes from (public schools) >>> quality of publics decreases >>> cycle of privilege and religious indoctrination continues…
The last time I looked (aren’t we all so much closer these days?) the US was hardly a hotbed of socialism.
By social engineering, I was referring to the psychological manipulation of small groups of people and not the computer hacking meaning. I live in California and our public schools must teach K-12 about “gay issues”, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/16/local/la-me-gay-schools-20111016. This joins a long list of “social” issues like proper condom usage, abortion providers, parental misconduct, etc. etc. that must be taught. Of course, this all takes away time from the “3 R’s” at a time when our children are testing among the lowest levels.
I’m not anti-public education, just that the public schools should be held accountable at the most local levels instead of federal funding. And, there are plenty of studies to conclusively demonstrate that money does not, necessarily, mean better education.
You might be surprised how socialistic the US has become. Our health care, education, and largest automobile company have come under control of the federal gov’t.
Yes, I was referring to the definition of social engineering you describe. All those issues you mention sound worthy to me. For me, the problem would be with the method and level of dogmatism in the implementation, and no argument from me over the importance of the 3 R’s. It’s not necessarily too hard to implement everything. (An extra language wouldn’t hurt, if not in the US, definitely here in Oz – Europe does it well.)
Just picking one of the ‘issues for discussion’ mentioned above, I can see how ‘parental misconduct’ can be used by government to undermine the family for political gain. Balance is important. And despite our cultural similarities, it’s possible there’s an urgency in the minds of policy makers in the US with regards to ‘social’ issues that scares conservatives, whereas the discussion of such things here in Oz might not be seen as such as a big deal – just speculation, of course.
It doesn’t surprise me that your fed gov’t is seizing control of those things. I suspect it’s less to do with socialism and more to do with fascism (I believe Soviet Russia, for example, ended up being more fascism than communism, or at least socialism, in the end). It sounds harsh now, but the signs are there. I’m pretty sure the US government, present or near future, regardless of party and short of a revolution, has no intention of redistributing the spoils according to need. (As for California, which I’m not necessarily including under the fascism label, maybe the feds are doing their best to stop you from going out on your own.)
Really, whatever ‘ism’ we want to attach to it all, I hope we can agree that extremism is the danger, and it’s what we’ll probably get if we don’t keep an eye on our leaders, i.e. ‘watch the watchers’. But, as David’s post might suggest, some of us are doing a lousy job of it.
As for money, yes, it doesn’t guarantee success in any field, but education should be a high priority – maybe after health (the best case for socialism) – and too much money thrown at it is better than not enough.
Keep up the fight, Eric, however different it might be to mine.
Cheers
This post reminded me of the story about a lecturer commenting on how ignorance and apathy were great problems facing society these days. One man sitting in the back of the hall asked his partner the meaning of the words ignorance and apathy. The other man commented, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
Education is great but wisdom is better!
Hi Gruff, We are in agreement on many principles, probably how to implement (enforce) those principles is where we would have the greatest degree of separation.
I’m a great believer in human rights; just not one race, gender, or age over another. Human beings deserve human rights regardless. In the US, our Declaration and Constitution guarantee us a right to life; doesn’t matter your race, age, or gender. You have a right to life that cannot be taken from you without due process of law.
The same with a free market. I am convinced the most benefits for the greatest number of people happens in a free market. The more control over the market by govt and you begin to see a decrease in amount of benefits and an increase in gap between rich and poor. The more control over health care or education by the govt the less quality and quantity will be delivered and more people will suffer.
I am old enough to remember health care in the US prior to health insurance. And, at that time, our health care was affordable and plentiful. It was free market medicine and it worked.
I agree with you on the “extremism” being dangerous in some cases. But I do wish we had teachers extremely interested in educating our children, doctors extremely interested in caring for their patients, parents extremely interested in caring for their children, those with much extremely concerned with those who have little or none, and… well, you get my point.
I’m afraid I’m far from convinced that a free market is the way to go. It starts well, and ends in a winner-takes-all monopoly, or duopoly if the main players can’t get that last advantage. A fair market is what many around the globe are pushing for these days – whether that will work remains to be seen (it does work on a local level). I do grant you that government favours to big business make a joke of the free market concept, and the big corporations are hypocrites in this respect (I’m in trouble – bail me out!). Maybe this is what you’re getting at. But even without government interference, I still see it as a race to the bottom. Regardless of our reading of history, as to whether there ever has been a truly free market, government has to be watertight against graft and corruption in its own ranks to prevent big businesses getting leverage over smaller ones and their individual workers. And businesses won’t play fair without government regulation. Rockefeller is a good example in early capitalism. Volumes have probably already been written about what’s wrong with Murdoch and his empire. Maybe free trade could work without the inevitable corporation bullying if banking rules were changed – that’s still government interference…
As for health, I just don’t get it as far as the US goes. Neither does the rest of the world. I don’t know the history, but it sounds like you once had a health system as good as ours (ours is relatively good). Yes, health insurance is a scam and shouldn’t be the basis of a health system, but I see that as a market opportunity exploited by free marketeers. Taxes mostly fund our health system here in Oz, and everyone (apart from access issues for remote Aboriginal communities – that’s another shameful story) can expect a basic level of healthcare at the least. That’s not the picture the rest of the first world seems to get of the US. I don’t know the history of how health insurance got its foothold, but if I was in government, I sure as hell wouldn’t be giving monetary incentives to people to join a fund (as our feds – mostly the conservatives – have done in recent years) – I’d be trying to get rid of them, and get people back to sharing the same service, regardless of their status. And arguments of government inefficiency and people abusing the system don’t cut it with me – they’re inevitable and addressable cons of a fairer system. Call me an extremist on that one. (I also like the idea of a maximum wage – say, for example, a million a year, even though it would never work. Oh, go on, make me the prez for a day…)
Apart from all that, totally with you on the human rights thing, and wish we had the same freedom of speech as you enshrined in law (most people just assume it here, but our defamation laws are way too biased in favour of the rich and powerful who can afford to block up our courts).
I’m not looking to argue the merits of free trade, etc. ad nauseum. Just expressing my take…
Maybe we can agree we’re not on the same page, but in the same book and hopefully even on the same chapter. (How far can I mangle this?)
Oh…keep an eye on that due process. It’s being eroded by legislation as we speak. Not what we should expect in the land of the free, and an example of the fascism I alluded to earlier. That’s the type of government interference nobody should want or accept.
Take care.
Nice discussion! I appreciate your thoughts and seriously consider them.
In a free market, monopolies ala Rockefeller cannot possibly exist. They need govt intervention to exist. Not to say free markets will not have problems, there will always be greedy criminal types and that’s why we need laws against fraud, theft and violence. If it’s illegal to steal and defraud, why do we need further banking regs?
I own my own business and I don’t need govt regs to play fair. I pay my employees more than fairly and they stay. I pay my bills according to terms and vendors make me good deals. I deliver quality product at a fair price and my customers stay with me. It’s good business to be honest and treat people with respect!
And, that’s why I don’t want any caps on my income. I would absolutely LOVE to have $11 million to help a local college build their state of the art music dept; can’t do it if I can only make $1 million. World Vision feeds hungry people all over the planet; would LOVE to give them millions more than I do. I am involved with a local group of business owners that want to earn more $’s for the same reasons.
Ah, but if only all business people had the same intentions as you, Eric. It’s true that good faith goes a long way in attracting business, but crooks do still find ways to prosper. Yes, maybe I need to revisit the Rockefeller story. My memory lets me down sometimes. ‘Friends’ in government helped him with railway legislation for starters, no? Still, for true free trade, government back-door deals have to be kept in check somehow, which makes me sceptical of a pure free market ever happening. You’ve given me food for thought either way.
One heartening story happened here in Melbourne just the other day. The very rich owner of a long-established bus company has sold to another company and retired, leaving very generous bonuses in all his employees accounts, the amounts varying greatly according to length and nature of service. He wanted to acknowledge the people who made his company the success it is today. I’d love to see this sort of story a lot more often. Your local group of like-minded business owners is a great idea and should be encouraged. Good luck.
True philanthropy – the Melbourne bus company owner’s is an example – is a measure of the true human that too often is left obscured by the focus on malfeasance. Not to say crooks should be left to get on with it, of course (nail them all is my preference) but generally the human spirit is rather more generous, and kindly, than we are sometimes encouraged to think it is.
I’m with you Hector, nail ‘em! Don’t misunderstand anything I’ve written to indicate that criminals should not be punished. That’s exactly what gov’t SHOULD be doing!