Consequences of the Death of Education
There has been a concerted effort to push real education out and replace it with a shallow, foundationless indoctrination. Nowhere is this more evident than in politics.

It used to be that you had to do a western civilization component for any university degree, where you would be taught the foundational ideas that underly both the conservative and liberal movement. Watching the debates (and I used the term loosely) that go on about politics show clearly that almost no-one knows or understands any of the foundations. (The one exception I would say is that libertarians do understand the foundations of libertarianism - Atlas Shrugs continues to be widely read)

Consider this Huffington Post piece as a typical example of the political discourse that goes on today. The Author, Steven Weber, is an actor. Which is to say, that his chief qualification is playing make believe. Yet our political discourse is so retarded that some people consider actors as experts (Consider the cast of Battlestar Galactica being asked to talk at a U.N. function on international/religious relations).

A quick read of the article leaves you with one impression (actually two, but I will refrain from talking about Weber's character). That republicans are apparently irrational, evil, fearful, outdated monsters. The enemy of all that is good. You may however, have trouble finding anything even remotely considered a logical argument to support this case.

And that seems to be the plan. Insult the right. It's easy to do. The left-wing ideals are all so very shiny...universal health care, higher minimum wage, progressive tax, redistribute wealth to the poor, open the borders, release the prisoners, stop the war. All very noble sounding....help people, make peace, be 'excellent' to each other.

The ideas sound so nice...why only irrational, evil, fearful, outdated monsters would oppose them. Or so it seems to the likes of Weber.

The situation is only marginally better on the right. Conservatives are looking for a conservative G.O.P., and finding it hard to find. The population, lacking foundational education, is swayed easily by the fast-food ideals of the left, and so many in the G.O.P. are trying to add sugar to their buns, in order to stay 'relevant'. Instead of educating (a very difficult thing to do out of school in our sound-bite culture), conservative movements from around the world have become fiscal liberals (Even here in our recent QLD state election). Is it any wonder our economy is in so bad shape.

And that is the problem today. The left peddles short-term nice sounding goals. Kevin Rudd in Australia is popular, and why not...he is giving everyone $900! Yet anyone who takes the time to think about it should realise that that $900 will actually cost them at least $1200. If anyone thinks this is a good deal, feel free to message me...I will happily give you $900 if you give me $1200. Short-term feel good fast-food.

Universal health-care sounds nice....but doesn't work - which is why people fly from Canada to the U.S. to get many types of health-care. People not having to pay for their own health-care is a moral hazard, as it encourages poor life-style choices. This means everyone else has to pay for the smokers health-care. The only 'reasonable' way forward then is to mandate what people can and can't do (or abandon universal health-care...unthinkable and evil don't you know)

Large scale Social security/welfare sounds nice....but doesn't work - which is why welfare spending in Australia now accounts for nearly half the Australian government budget....and is only going to get worse. Or consider Europe, where there aren't enough young people to make enough money to pay for the welfare of the elderly. Or America, where the welfare system is essentially bankrupt.

Beating our swords into ploughshares sounds nice....but doesn't work - Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, Somalian Pirates, just to name a few that are becoming more emboldened and militant in their actions because of the perceived weakness of America.

Releasing the prisoners sounds nice....but doesn't work - consider how many guantanamo bay releasees have gone straight back into fighting the west through terrorist activities.

Opening the borders sounds nice....but doesn't work - consider the massive social upheavals across the globe (Cronulla riots in Australia, no-go zones in Europe) where large scale cultural differences are prominent, mostly due to open borders policies allowing more into the country than can be culturally assimilated.

So what is the chief foundation that is missing? What is it, that makes all these nice sounding ideas implode in the long-term?

Morality...people are moral beings...but more than that, people are fallen moral beings. No-one lives up to even their own moral code, let alone the moral code of a transcendent omnipotent God. The western world is no longer being taught that it is full of sinners. Full of people, who no matter how hard they try, continue to do things they consider wrong, things that negatively affect themselves and others.

It has been said that the fallen nature of man is the most empirically established fact in history. History declares that we are sinners who cannot perfect ourselves....

To ignore this fact is the height of stupidity, yet our educational institutions no longer teach it...the most important aspect of human nature is ignored.

I would suggest their are several reasons....
Firstly, we have been told that 'self-esteem' is more important than understanding that everyone...you, me, politicians...everyone, is a sinner.

Secondly, we live in a fast-food, sound-bite culture. Depth of understanding is disintegrating, and it is so much easier to pander to short-term desires than to real needs.

Thirdly, there is a campaign by the left to indoctrinate the world into their vision. It is a matter of record that universities and schools are predominantly left-leaning (since the 1960's). Teaching western civilization has been removed because it would challenge the left-wing vision.

So, next time you read a contentless article decrying the evils of conservative ideology, and you wonder how anyone with a brain and a heart could be a conservative, just remember, maybe it is because the person is actually using both their brain and their heart.

Show me a young conservative and I'll show you a man without a heart. Show me an old liberal and I'll show you a man without a brain.

-Winston Churchill

- posted by Alan Grey @ Sunday, April 12, 2009 0 comments