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What was it that one learned through a great books curriculum? Certainly not "conservatism" in any contemporary American sense of the term. We were not taught to become American patriots, or religious pietists, or to worship what Rudyard Kipling called "the Gods of the Market Place." We were not instructed in the evils of Marxism, or the glories of capitalism, or even the superiority of Western civilization.
As I think about it, I'm not sure we were taught anything at all. What we did was read books that raised serious questions about the human condition, and which invited us to attempt to ask serious questions of our own. Education, in this sense, wasn't a "teaching" with any fixed lesson. It was an exercise in interrogation.
To listen and understand; to question and disagree; to treat no proposition as sacred and no objection as impious; to be willing to entertain unpopular ideas and cultivate the habits of an open mind — this is what I was encouraged to do by my teachers at the University of Chicago.
It's what used to be called a liberal education.
The University of Chicago showed us something else: that every great idea is really just a spectacular disagreement with some other great idea.
Bret Stephens's speech warrants a full read. It makes valuable points that we all need to hear, even on SN.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday September 27 2017, @01:11PM (3 children)
I'd propose that both parties are in youth revolution, so we have a four way fight between left and right AND young and old. They're about equidistant from each other.
I mean, purely as an observation, aren't there D party guys Trump can work with more effectively, than legacy internal traitors like Paul Ryan or McCain?
The legacy "boomer" R party was captured by capitalist corruption and religion and really has no principles other than serving the special interests. The modern R party rebellion wants right wing principles.
The legacy "boomer" D party was captured by holiness spiral signalling from old white cat ladies and Hollywood limousine liberals which ironically involved in practice tossing out the values they supposedly VERY publicly cherish. The modern D party is now entirely a special interest coalition of minorities and outcasts with nothing uniting them except a vague racism and sexism against white males.
Eventually the legacy folks are going to literally die out, but in the short term its a hell of a fight to watch.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @07:34PM (2 children)
hey so why is someone a traitor if they are upholding what their constituency voted them in for?
if the correct behavior is to just toe the party line, then why have a platform at all? just say blue/red and leave it at that.
those guys are not traitors--they do as they are instructed by their electorate, not doing what they are told to do by their party. I would prefer that most representatives behaved the same way.
McCain laid clear that leadership is supposed to work with leadership -- not lay down and be a bitch to leadership. i respect him.
Paul Ryan probably needs more terms as a seasoned political veteran, but... he's not Cruz. And Cruz is worthy of respect himself, but I'd never vote for him.
Speaking of voting,I would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. Palin just wasn't trumpish enough to carry McCain by everyone else; I fled to team obama because of Palin.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @07:54PM
How can you say any of that with a clear conscience? From my perspective it is straight insanity! All of those people do toe the party line and routinely renege on their "platforms". Constituency? You mean corporate donors with greedy agendas that in no way help the actual people?
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday September 27 2017, @10:22PM
Exactly. Wait... are you under the delusion the electorate is the middle class or the poor? Otherwise reality is Citizens United, and the electorate is the 1%. Freedom has been supplanted by big fat wallets that are far, far, far more equal than others.
You seem to naively imply that politicians serve the people. How quaint.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.