Oops! Forgot to give you the scorecard Tuesday night. Make a note to record your Jy 9 participation in the "2d inning"column next week, as well as the 3d (Jy 16).
Report presentations begin next week. Talk to us as long as you want about your topic, both what you find most interesting and important in our assigned reading and whatever else of interest you discover about it in your research.
Jy 16 - Anderson, ch3-5; McDermott, ch4-7; Romano, Part 2
REPORT: Lauren, Origins of Pragmatism
Jy 23 - Anderson, ch-6-8; McDermott, ch8-10; Romano, Part 3
REPORT: Gary, Pragmatism & 12-step programs
Jy 30 - Anderson, ch9-11; McDermott, ch11-12; Romano, Part 4
REPORT: Erica, Women in Philosophy
Aug 6 - Anderson, ch12-15; McDermott, ch13-14; Parts 5-6
REPORT: Hailey, Isocrates (Romano pt 5)
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Jy 16 - Anderson, ch3-5; McDermott, ch4-7; Romano, Part 2... Substack audio recording here...
- Not to ignore the elephant in the room (and Milwaukee): what are your thoughts pertaining to the latest incident of gun violence in American politics? Why do we tolerate a prevalence and accessibility of deadly weaponry greater by magnitudes than any other "civilized" nation? Why do so many continue to support politicians (and the special interests who subsidize them) who defy the will of the majority that we address this problem? Was it a case of a populist politician (nearly) reaping what he's sewn? Should a voter ever cast a ballot on the basis of "sympathy" (if the candidate's positions are not otherwise compelling or appealing)?
- Have you read Hillbilly Elegy? Did you happen to meet Vance when he came to campus for convocation a few years ago? What do you make of his brand of populism, and his about-face re: Trump? Does his selection have particular implications for the health and future of American democracy?
- "Thoreau spoke of wilderness as a metaphorical expression of the inner wildness necessary for us to overcome the deadening effects of overcivilization." /50 Time spent in literal wilderness, the great and beautiful outdoors, can help us access our "inner wildness"... What else can? How have you experienced "overcivilization" and what have you found useful in overcoming it? OR, do you not experience this at all? Does such a feeling even register, in your experience, with most people?
- William James definitely understood "overcivilization," do you have any comment on this passage from his essay "On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings"? ..."we of the highly educated classes (so called) have most of us got far, far away from Nature. We are trained to seek the choice, the rare,
the exquisite exclusively, and to overlook the common. We are stuffed
with abstract conceptions, and glib with verbalities and verbosities;
and in the culture of these higher functions the peculiar sources of joy
connected with our simpler functions often dry up, and we grow
stone-blind and insensible to life's more elementary and general goods
and joys.
The remedy under such conditions is to descend to a more profound and
primitive level. To be imprisoned or shipwrecked or forced into the
army would permanently show the good of life to many an over-educated
pessimist. Living in the open air and on the ground, the lop-sided
beam of the balance slowly rises to the level line; and the
over-sensibilities and insensibilities even themselves out. The good
of all the artificial schemes and fevers fades and pales; and that of
seeing, smelling, tasting, sleeping, and daring and doing with one's
body, grows and grows. The savages and children of nature, to whom we
deem ourselves so much superior, certainly are alive where we are often
dead, along these lines; and, could they write as glibly as we do, they
would read us impressive lectures on our impatience for improvement and
on our blindness to the fundamental static goods of life... 'the
happiness of both thinking of nothing and doing nothing. This, next to
sleep, is the most enchanting of all things. Thus we were before our
birth, and thus we shall be after death. Thy people,... when they have
finished reaping one field, they begin to plough another; and, if the
day were not enough, I have seen them plough by moonlight. What is their
life to ours,--the life that is as naught to them? Blind that they are,
they lose it all! But we live in the present.'
The intense interest that life can assume when brought down to the
non-thinking level, the level of pure sensorial perception..."
- William James found that learning to take control of his own attention was key to exercising free will and living his best life. We now live in a social media environment that tries to seize and command (and profit from) our attention. Any comment on Jenny Odell's "resistance movement"?: “In a situation where every waking moment has become the time in which we make our living, and when we submit even our leisure for numerical evaluation via likes on Facebook and Instagram, constantly checking on its performance like one checks a stock, monitoring the ongoing development of our personal brand, time becomes an economic resource that we can no longer justify spending on “nothing.”
― How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - "The practice of walking establishes something I can count on in my own experiences--a general feature of my own being." /71, 87 Anderson is echoing Thoreau's essay "Walking," in which he says not only that "wildness is the preservation of the world" but also that "I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements." Comment? AND, any comment on this short essay about walking philosophers (aka "peripatetics")?
- "It is folly rather than wisdom to include in the concept of success only tangible material goods and to exclude those of culture, art, science, sympathetic relations with others." --John Dewey /77 Do you agree? What do you think of what William James said about success in a 1906 letter to H.G. Wells?
- Do you think Thoreau would recognize his own conception of wildness in the likes of Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, and George Jones? /94ff., ch6
- Romano points out that sermonizing in America [like politics] has often appealed to fear, going back to Jonathan Edwards warning that god "will crush you under his Feet without mercy" etc. /163 Why has that been so "persuasive" to so many?
- Do you think Paul Fussell was right about the class structure in America? /267-72
- Was Hugh Hefner's "playboy philosophy" really a search for wisdom? /272-80
- Do you agree with McDermott about "the religious and metaphysical originality of America" and its "aversion to ideology" etc.? 64
- What do you think of McDermott's discussion of the old Puritan "prophecy of doom" jeremiad and new Whitmanesque democratic prophecy of hope? 66ff.
- "America may be finished." 87 Bearing in mind that McDermott wrote that in 1983, what do you think of it in the present context?
- What does "the nectar is in the journey" mean to you? 91
- Do you think of yourself as a "citizen of the world"? 102
- [The] "flow of historical experience is not tied to some fixed, determined master plan." Agree? What bearing does (or would) that view have on your conduct? Does it make you more of a meliorist, a fatalist, a pessimist, or... ?
- What else in today's assigned reading would you like to discuss?
By the way... This is kinda funny, but also a bit concerning. I took a look at the Panopto video recordings of our two classes so far (in D2L, under "videos"). When I said the word "hell," the transcript caption said [INAUDIBLE]. And later, when referencing Professor Harry Frankfurt's famous essay "On Bullshit," it said [INAUDIBLE] again. I know I spoke quite audibly (those were the only "INAUDIBLE" moments.) So I'm wondering if someone on our campus is reviewing the videos and choosing to censor the language according to their own sensibility? Or did someone program Panopto to not transcribe select words automatically? Either way, I consider this a violation of academic freedom. Fortunately in this instance, the context makes it easy enough for the viewer/listener to fill in the bit that's been elided. But they shouldn't have to. Our classroom conversations should not be monitored and censored in this way. I'm going to ask ITD about it.
--I asked. Here's the reply so far:
That is really interesting and quite bizarre. I didn't even know this was a feature in Panopto. Would you mind sharing the video link with me so I can review this and get some information from Panopto on this?
...
Just to follow up, I asked our team and we were never told about this policy. Furthermore, I contacted Panopto support and they couldn't answer my questions either. I have a ticket open to, hopefully, get the answers to these requests: I'd like a list of the words that are censored, along with Panopto's policy on censorship and their justification for censoring these specific words.
...
Through my own research and conversations with colleagues, I have discovered that Panopto uses Google's captioning services (ASR- automatic speech recognition), so this "censorship" actually comes from Google's platform. It seems their policy is to err on the side of caution because Google's applications and Panopto service many K-12 institutions.I found this information in Panopto's community forums that requests the ability to toggle this feature "off," but Panopto doesn't provide this capability.
If I receive further information on this, I'll be sure to pass it along.
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American Jeremiad
Anniversary Edition, with a new preface
Sacvan Bercovitch
Studies in American Thought and Culture
Paul Boyer, Series Editor
“Sacvan Bercovitch is a giant in American studies. This book was his first classic work— and others followed. He stands alongside Perry Miller and F. O. Matthiessen as indispensable figures in our understanding of American civilization.”
—Cornel West, Princeton University
When Sacvan Bercovitch’s The American Jeremiad first appeared in 1978, it was hailed as a landmark study of dissent and cultural formation in America, from the Puritans’ writings through the major literary works of the antebellum era. For this long-awaited anniversary edition, Bercovitch has written a deeply thoughtful and challenging new preface that reflects on his classic study of the role of the political sermon, or jeremiad, in America from a contemporary perspective, while assessing developments in the field of American studies and the culture at large.
“A deeply learned, revolutionary break with the dominant consensus models from Perry Miller through F. O. Matthiessen, The American Jeremiad rediscovered the prophetic core of American literature and culture, and it demonstrated how fully our national identity has been forged from conflicted narratives of self-examination and redemption. The author’s brilliant and searching new introduction brings this classic work boldly into the twenty-first century.”—Eric J. Sundquist, Johns Hopkins University
Sacvan Bercovitch is the Powell M. Cabot Research Professor of American Literature at Harvard University. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is a former president of the American Studies Association and the general editor of the eight-volume Cambridge History of American Literature. https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4948.htm
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A jeremiad is a style of literature, either in prose or in verse, in which the author expresses his or her despair for the state of contemporary society and its morals, and prophesies its imminent downfall because of its sins. Born in the pulpits of medieval Europe, it was brought to America by the Puritans, who couldn’t wait to employ it in the New World. Indeed, as Sacvan Bercovitch notes, the first “American” jeremiad of note was delivered not in Massachusetts but at sea aboard the Arbella as it transported the first wave of Puritans and their provisions to their new home. Even before they had a chance to begin, the Puritans were warning of their failure.
Instead, the colony thrived, forming an important cultural and moral foundation for the nation that followed. And because of this, the jeremiad became an important rhetorical form, used by preachers, authors, and politicians to critique the world and express their anxieties about their fate. Bercovitch’s book describes the evolution of the jeremiad from its early use by the Puritans through its adoption as a “national ritual” in the early republic and the antebellum era.
Instead, the colony thrived, forming an important cultural and moral foundation for the nation that followed. And because of this, the jeremiad became an important rhetorical form, used by preachers, authors, and politicians to critique the world and express their anxieties about their fate. Bercovitch’s book describes the evolution of the jeremiad from its early use by the Puritans through its adoption as a “national ritual” in the early republic and the antebellum era.
Throughout reading the chapters in Anderson's book for this week, I kept thinking about how a child sees the world, raw and unpersuaded. Seeing things as they are, but also as they see them. For example, a toy horse to an adult is simply another thing to buy with little meaning, while a child would see it as their steady mare that will carry them through the world and fight many battles. Referring back "Things", "Action", and "Meaning" subsections of chapter 3, from how I read it, was to take a step back and see every possibility that a new adventure, a rudimentary object of everyday life, and even a conversation can have in store. On page 54, there is a quote that really stuck out: "Put another way, we find ourselves- our meanings- through localized expression and orientation but always against a backdrop of wilderness unexplored, indeterminate, and untamed." In theory, we compare ourselves to everything else we see in the world but we truly focus on how we see ourselves without different attributes, pertaining to the wild aspect. With the input of a child's perspective, we could disassociate from the aesthetic "normal to be", to become the worldly wild side that sees holistically. Taking that step out of comfort to, physically back from reality, to see the wilderness as it is, but also what it could/ couldn't be.
ReplyDeleteThe physical wilderness is simply the woods or being of nature, but it could also be as simply as going to the store to buy groceries for the week. It is the uneasiness of unknowing and unwilling, but I feel like we subject ourselves to an unimplied wilderness everyday.
I guess this comment could coincide with question 1, but I feel like it could be a different take.
"how a child sees the world, raw and unpersuaded"--Raw as in uncooked, not-yet-tasted, un-experienced... James talked about "pure experience" being available to us at every age, though most of us think we've grown out of it pretty early on. He thought that creates preconceptions and biases we'd be better without. But of course as time goes by, and as we assimilate more and more experience, we form judgments and "tastes"... We have to push ourselves to see things "raw" again, but in my own experience it can be a delightful awakening of dormant senses to suddenly begin really seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, tasting as if for the first time. John Dewey in "Art as Experience" said this form of immediate sensation is the real root of art and artistry.
Delete"Unpersuaded" as in non-committal, maybe a bit skeptical? But kids tend to believe everything the trusted adults in their lives tell them, and only later become skeptical if they discover they've been told too many things that aren't so. On the other hand, kids are indeed unpersuaded in the sense that they don't come into the world full of prejudices and hatreds. "You have to be carefully taught to hate," as they sang in the musical South Pacific.
So the childlike sense of openness to "wild" reality (as opposed to conventional reality) is really just a receptivity to what might be possible in life. There are generally a great many more possibilities than we typically acknowledge. At some point it becomes uncomfortable, beyond our "comfort zone," to realize that we COULD change (with the mustering of sufficient effort and a willingness to embrace the unknown and uncertain) a situation we find uncongenial. So, to our disfavor, we don't.
And here's where I think Anderson and I might disagree about Dewey's view of "the quest for certainty." Dewey's against it, as a mindset and a philosophical goal, because it can impede constructive change. Anderson seems to view the quest more positively. I think we just need to distinguish the psychological sense of certainty from the metaphysical reality of it. The reality is: there's very little in life we can or should claim absolute certainty for. Being honestly uncertain is one of the prerequisites for "change we can believe in" (to borrow a phrase). And one of the big Darwinian lessons that so impressed the classic American philosophers was that the only ultimate constant IS change.
#5. "It is folly rather than wisdom to include in the concept of success only tangible material goods and to exclude those of culture, art, science, sympathetic relations with others." --John Dewey /77 Do you agree? What do you think of what William James said about success in a 1906 letter to H.G. Wells?
ReplyDeleteI agree that focusing on material things and the amount of money in your bank account isn't the best sense of success. Successfulness without attention to the arts, sciences, and culture isn't real success at all. In my life, I measure my accomplishments according to what I do, especially things I do to help and care for others. What sense does it make to gather many things or to have lots of money and hold it all like a hoarder? I have many friends and family who see life this way, but our American culture places much emphasis on "the bigger, the better" and pushing to attain more material things.
If only we could get those who fund public education (and de-fund the arts and humanities) to grasp this! It's still (in WJ's words) "our national disease" to think that successful moneymaking is exactly equivalent to successful living. To my mind, a good life is a life of kindness, generosity, curiosity, openness, receptivity, care for the generations to come... Lucky are those who can achieve both kinds of success, but notice how many successful earners turn out to be unsuccessful livers. A great many successful livers, on the other hand, are less adept at making $$ but are also without regrets.
DeleteWe can definitely see a shift, especially from generation to generation, when it comes to comparing material wealth -money, cars, home, fashion- to human wealth -knowledge, relationships, respect. It ultimately comes from where you base your love and definition of success to answer this question, which opens it up from educated thoughts of different individuals. Media also tends to focus on the "now" rather than down the line or the things that don't make headlines. It is sad when we see more advertisements being made known than deaths/ obituaries.
DeleteI haven't seen more recent polling figures on this, but a few years ago it was reported that "fewer than 40% of current college freshmen believe it is important to develop a meaningful philosophy. The absence of introspection is a far cry from the peak year of 1967, when 86% of freshmen said it was important to find a meaningful life philosophy." It would be nice to see the pendulum swing the other way again.
Delete#7. Romano points out that sermonizing in America [like politics] has often appealed to fear, going back to Jonathan Edwards warning that god "will crush you under his Feet without mercy" etc. /163 Why has that been so "persuasive" to so many?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the text, sermons are the language of everyday people. At least, those who attend church or are religious. A pastor's sermon can be a powerful means of control. Sermons like Edwards' are meant to strike fear of the unknown and fear of pain into the hearts and minds of the listeners. The media does it, too, especially for politics. They bend news to make us think the world and our place in the world are horrific. You ask why. I'm not sure. I'm not sure why so many of us accept with ease the fearful things said to us. When someone like me, who lived under this for years, tries to break free from the fear, it is like breaking my entire foundation and attempting to rebuild differently. This time, making my own choices to live outside the fears, to learn new and different ideas, and to help others however I can. Choosing to live under (mostly) men who demand and gain control through fear seems odd. Yet it's so common. It's common in American society, in our religions, in our families, in our neighborhoods. For many years I viewed God as the Big Ogre in the Sky ready and waiting to crush me like a bug for every sin I made or thought. I connected my sins with the negative circumstances in my life, both big and small. Many people I know lived this way, too. And many of us are deconstructing and reconstructing our lives.
Last week you asked a question or we had a class discussion about the American Jeremiad. I tried to post my thoughts but didn't see them. So I'll summarize here. I came home after class and researched the term because I had never heard it. I learned that religion and politics are tightly woven. I'm reading that in these books you've assigned and in things I stumble upon on the internet. I am flabbergasted by how often it happens, particularly in a society that seems to buck against traditional Christianity. But our history is marked with an intertwining of Biblical concepts and politics. Or even religion and philosophy, which surprised me (when I heard MTSU combines them).
On our break between summer and fall classes, I look forward to diving into these books. Skimming doesn't feel like enough. And there's so much to learn and comprehend, then choose to embrace or discard.
Mission accomplished! ;)
DeleteI always try to assign "too much," in hopes that students will WANT to finish "in good time." I mentioned "skimming" not because it's a better way to learn, but because I don't want you to be so intimidated by the volume of reading that you don't tackle it at all. You don't strike me as the sort who would be that way. (Sad to say, lots of undergrads these days give the impression in class of not having read ANY of the assignments.)
To the point of fear (or more broadly, aversion) being a major motivator in our culture: I like what WJ said to teachers about emphasizing the positive, and of encouraging students always to act not in negative reaction to the bad, "sub specie mali," but under the "notion of good" or "sub specie boni"...
"Spinoza long ago wrote in his Ethics that anything that a [hu-] man can avoid under the notion that it is bad he may also avoid under the notion that something else is good. He who habitually acts sub specie mali, under the negative notion, the notion of the bad, is called a slave by Spinoza. To him who acts habitually under the notion of good he gives the name of freeman. See to it now, I beg you, that you make freemen of your pupils by habituating them to act, whenever possible, under the notion of a good. Get them habitually to tell the truth, not so much through showing them the wickedness of lying as by arousing their enthusiasm for honor and veracity. Wean them from their native cruelty by imparting to them some of your own positive sympathy with an animal's inner springs of joy. And, in the lessons which you may be legally obliged to conduct upon the bad effects of alcohol, lay less stress than the books do on the drunkard's stomach, kidneys, nerves, and social miseries, and more on the blessings of having an organism kept in lifelong possession of its full youthful elasticity by a sweet, sound blood, to which stimulants and narcotics are unknown, and to which the morning sun and air and dew will daily come as sufficiently powerful intoxicants." William James, Talks to Teachers - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16287/16287-h/16287-h.htm#I__THE_GOSPEL_OF_RELAXATION
This reminds me of the term, "Positive Reinforcement," which I learned as an undergraduate studying Elementary English in 1992. It was rather new back then. I recall being given books with all kinds of examples of how to implement positive reinforcement in children. It was actually refreshing to learn and implement with my students. To see their faces light up when given a compliment or a sticker just lightened my heart. It was so much better than using time-out or threatening to take recess away, etc. And the results--smiles and happy students-- were better, too.
DeleteThis isn't to say there was never a time for consequences to negative behavior. It is to say that was to become the exception not the rule.
Positive reinforcement, in behavioral terms (as the followers of B.F. Skinner would point out); but more importantly it's positive outook and affect... a more cheerful, resourceful, and resilient orientation towards life in general. It conduces to actual happiness, not just compliance with authority and conformism to social norms.
DeleteQuestion #16
ReplyDeleteI do think I consider myself to be a "citizen of the world". A previous professor of mine made the comment that I am a global sociologists, and it has stuck with me. Throughout my educational experience, I feel like I have a worldly experience to where if I was placed in a foreign place, I could get around. I don't place my ideals in front of others because I have no right to control their everyday life. This question can be viewed as both being comfortable with the world around you to navigate it effectively, or it could be do you have the experience to collectively deal with people of different cultures and backgrounds. In both, I think I would fit.
I love the idea of a global sociologist, had that been offered in my undergrad I would have flung myself wholeheartedly into it. Instead I majored in International Studies, but I did get to take a course on Global Citizenship. I like to think that I am a citizen of the world as well, or at least I strive to be. I would also add that since we live in the world we are citizens of the world, and thus have the responsibilities of citizenship. But what are those responsibilities? Are they different from the responsibilities of the citizens of a nation or a state?
DeleteI don't know you well, Hailey, but I'm learning that you are a "citizen of the world." You often make comments and share ideas that are focused on other cultures. I see this about your heart. And look forward to learning (from you) more about the world.
DeleteCarl Sagan (one of my heroes and early influences) pointed out that a true cosmopolitan is not just a citizen of the world (the planet), as Diogenes and Socrates famously claimed to be, but indeed of the cosmos. Neil deGrasse Tyson calls this the cosmic perspective. "The cosmic perspective not only embraces our genetic kinship with all life on Earth but also values our chemical kinship with any yet-to-be discovered life in the universe, as well as our atomic kinship with the universe itself." https://neildegrassetyson.com/essays/2007-04-the-cosmic-perspective/
DeleteThere's a nice Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that speaks to this mindset, if I can find it I'll post it.
Not to ignore the elephant in the room (and Milwaukee): what are your thoughts pertaining to the latest incident of gun violence in American politics? Why do we tolerate a prevalence and accessibility of deadly weaponry greater by magnitudes than any other "civilized" nation? Why do so many continue to support politicians (and the special interests who subsidize them) who defy the will of the majority that we address this problem? Was it a case of a populist politician (nearly) reaping what he's sewn? Should a voter ever cast a ballot on the basis of "sympathy" (if the candidate's positions are not otherwise compelling or appealing)?
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one for me, I have strong opinions on gun violence. Since the news broke I have experienced a wide range of emotions. I hate that this is what we have come to as a nation, I hate that I feel more numb with each new public shooting. I am heartbroken that lives were lost, that the number of safe spaces is dwindling in our country. I feel terrible for the people who have to carry the burden of the trauma of witnessing this act. I am not surprised by the act though, this is what happens when the basis of someone’s message is laced with violent undertones. I have seen the claims that this was staged, and I think that there are some valid arguments made but that makes me even angrier that I could believe in the possibility that this was faked for attention. I’m horrified and deeply concerned for the future of our country because neither scenario are good and I do not know which is the better option.
I don’t know why we continue to fight against gun control. I would have thought we would have done something after Columnbine, but we didn’t. Then after Sandy Hook, but we didn’t. Then so many mass shootings that they begin to blur together, and we still do nothing except express concern and offer thoughts and prayers. I am so tired. I’ve done active shooter drills when I was a teacher. I’ve received the text before school started saying that the local police received a tip and that they were taking it seriously. I’ve greeted students as they walked into the building and asked them to trust me and just grab their breakfast and go to their homeroom instead of 1st period. I’ve walked the halls with the only instruction of “look for anything out of the ordinary”. I’ve heard the coded “all clear” message over the intercom, and read the email that a said a student did indeed follow through but they were caught before entering the building. I’ve say with hundreds of 7th and 8th graders and walked them through our plan of action for an active shooter. I held them as they processed that it can truly happen at anywhere, even here. I’ve looked my kids in the eyes and swore it would be me before them, that I would be them as much time to get away, that their best route would be up the forested hill behind the school. I’ve sent the text to loved ones, saying I’m okay and we’re all safe. I’m so tired of relieving that day with every new “event” and the people who have the ability to make something better for the future, refuse to anything.
Perhaps I am bitter, but I don’t think events like this warrant a sympathy vote. First, sympathy votes should exist, get elected because you are the best person for the job. I know that is not quite how it works in reality but if we are talking about how it should be let’s go all in, right? I know a lot of people treat elections as a popularity contest, and if it were run like a reality show competition, perhaps a sympathy vote would be appropriate. But not for this. This is too important, this election is more than just Trump vs Biden. Our nation has a gaping wound and sympathy votes are not going to heal it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Lauren. I'm not able to get mine into words just yet. Maybe by tomorrow's class time. Idk. Also, I'm sorry you and the children you teach have gone through these fears yourselves. As a mom, I worry about my daughter while she's at school. And chalk it up to "well, i just have to trust the system in place to take care of her" and that she's a very smart gal who will fight for her survival and the survival for others if she has to. America is scarier than when I was a kid. Or maybe I was just sheltered. Idk. Anyway, thanks again. See you tomorrow.
DeleteI heard a BBC radio production yesterday featuring a British woman whose family had relocated to the US. She was dumbstruck by how matter-of-fact we've become, with our "active shooter drills" in grade schools now supplanting the ducik-and-cover nuclear alert drills I remember from my childhood. Is there something deeply apocalyptic in the American grain that makes us just accept this level of self-terror?
Delete"America may be finished." 87 Bearing in mind that McDermott wrote that in 1983, what do you think of it in the present context?
ReplyDeleteI think McDermott may be correct. America has been on a downward spiral for decades, and shows many of the signs of the collapsing empire. We are trillions in debt, our infrastructure is crumbling. We have an education crisis and an information crisis, there is an overwhelming mistrust in our public figures. Families are starving and we are facing a housing crisis. I do worry that every new mass shooting is another ringing of a death knell.
“If our community is self-decieved and illusory, so to is the world. If our community is on-going, integrative, and supportive, so to is the world. Royce has transformed the traditional idealist position, which reads as “the world is as it is thought” to “the world is as it is built to be”.
This quote and the passages surrounding it really resonated with me. It may be a bit self-centered but America tends to lead trends world wide, we are often held as a beacon of “if it can be done there, it can be done here” Or we were at one point but we have certainly maintained that approach. This sentiment reminds me a lot of mutualism, where the community works together for the betterment of the community. With the last phrase, “the world is as it is built to be”, comes a harsh dose of reality. This world, as corrupt and broken as it is, is functioning exactly how it was designed to function. This was built with intention, which means it can be rebuilt and made better. We can shift our communities to be supportive, integrative, and on-going.
The emphasis on the "built" world is profoundly pragmatic, emphasizing our responsibility and opportunity to do something constructive in the face of all the challenges we face. We're not "chosen" to be "city on a hill," we have to build it. And it has to be a true city, full of a diverse and mutually supportive populace. That's community. John Dewey was our great expositor of the idea of individualism AND community in balance. Seems like we've lost our balance lately.
Delete#3 How have you experienced "over civilization" and what have you found useful in overcoming it?
ReplyDeleteThe quote mentioned in question 3 is interesting to me because I do not think I have experienced wilderness in the way the author is explaining it, or at least how I am interpreting it. I am picturing a very physical and gritty way of overcoming over civilization, which I do not recall experiencing. However, I have experienced the effects of over civilization in the literal sense.
Over civilization has become an issue in southern Ontario, Canada within the last 5 to 10 years. Canada is the second largest country in the world, in terms of land mass. Though, most of Canada’s population resides in the southern quarter of the country because of the harsh weather and environment up north. This has created large settlements around cities in the southern parts of the country, closest to the US border. These settlements are forcefully growing because of over civilization. This problem has hit southern Ontario in numerous ways (the region I was born and raised in). We are currently in a housing and shrinkflation crisis. To put it plainly, there are not enough homes for citizens, so prices have skyrocketed. Also, food has become harder to import and grow at the pace that the population needs. These are the same issues happening in places like New York City and Los Angeles. These issues have created economic problems, through newfound struggles for the middle and lower-class citizens. Also, pressures are added to younger adults who cannot find well-paying jobs and adequate places to live.
Now there are some benefits to over civilization. It has definitely enhanced our society, in Toronto, by enriching and showcasing our culture and communities, not only inside the country but globally as well. As a community, we have chosen to overcome these issues by leaning into our culture. I think this is the best way to overcome these problems, while we create more permanent solutions.