I find the article well written and easy to understand . References were included and all you have to do is click on them . What has me puzzled is I have not run into many people these days that even try to keep up with current worldly events by any media source much less local news . I spent all of my life in the working class people and no surprise there but what has amazed me is that higher educated ones I know including relatives have apparently not tried to further develop themselves after employment opportunities were set . What I preceive were I live is some sort of distorted Christianity that hopefully make Jesus blush ! Guns are in, science is out the window with public education. Home schooling is the answer now , no science required there and we don't have Gay flags in front of our children and besides all that we can all learn together , who da teacher ? Sorry had to get some of it out ! The ones I know don't want to discuss any topic that requires any reasoning , just want to hand my life over to God he will provide me and mine , now I got to go get some guns just in case God is busy and I have to handle it myself .
Very well said. I completely agree with all your points.
It's crucial that a lot more people start realizing that the system itself is the root cause of many societal problems, and that things can indeed change if we all work together to collectively apply significant pressure towards the ruling class.
Pauline: I came on your Soul of the Nation writing through Keillor's site and want to congratulate you on both its content and intent. I have been of similar mind for many of my 87 years having grown up in a small Midwestern town of Mansfield OH during WWII and college (DePauw U.) as a 50's generation kid during which time many of your thoughts and proposals were actually working. WWII had brought the country together and it had stayed mostly that way until the next war - this time born of typical political lies and stupidity - Vietnam. I served 3 years as a USNavy Officer and was released just before that started. A wife, three kids, and an engineering career in the industrial manufacturing world followed along with 55 years of touring on weekends playing music in a dixieland band including many trips to your West Coast at various jazz festivals which were attended by thousands of former WWII veterans and others from that generation. Thus my state of life was established.
Your observations and lament are accurate. However, after much hand wringing about the situation including Trumpism, I was recently directed by a retired MD friend to a book which explains the situation better than anything read or experienced in life before. Its called "The Eleven Nations of North America" by Colin Woodard. My education was as good as it got during the 40's-50's. Teachers dressed for the occasion, were well qualified, and respected by their students. Religious influence on public schools and governmental activity was at a minimum basically restricted to various "standard" forms of churches (none of the "mega" variety yet). Broadcasting stations of all types were restricted to "fair and balanced" reporting - no Limbaughs, Jones, Fox, or shock jocks. The Republican discarding of this rule alone has caused infinite amounts of national thought destruction.
What I didn't learn or become aware of until recently was that the USA is not a homogeneous configuration of peoples emanating from Plymouth Rock - as I had thought I was taught. So to get to the point, as the book points out, there are at least eleven different groups of peoples with their myriad of thoughts, cultural heritage, religious leanings, experiences, problem solving methods, brain power, etc. that make it essentially impossible for a "common" sense as you propose to take root. Obviously religious thought (an oxymoron itself) is a large element but not the only one. Heritage, class, genetics, are all in the mix - to say nothing about the fact that since I was in high school the US population has doubled. Twice as many cats to herd. I live here now in the Princeton NJ bubble of academics and generational Democrats who knew little of the Midwestern de-industrialization which has contributed as well (my hometown is a shadow of what it was during my growing up years becoming Trumpy in the process).
I find the article well written and easy to understand . References were included and all you have to do is click on them . What has me puzzled is I have not run into many people these days that even try to keep up with current worldly events by any media source much less local news . I spent all of my life in the working class people and no surprise there but what has amazed me is that higher educated ones I know including relatives have apparently not tried to further develop themselves after employment opportunities were set . What I preceive were I live is some sort of distorted Christianity that hopefully make Jesus blush ! Guns are in, science is out the window with public education. Home schooling is the answer now , no science required there and we don't have Gay flags in front of our children and besides all that we can all learn together , who da teacher ? Sorry had to get some of it out ! The ones I know don't want to discuss any topic that requires any reasoning , just want to hand my life over to God he will provide me and mine , now I got to go get some guns just in case God is busy and I have to handle it myself .
Very well said. I completely agree with all your points.
It's crucial that a lot more people start realizing that the system itself is the root cause of many societal problems, and that things can indeed change if we all work together to collectively apply significant pressure towards the ruling class.
People's power is key here.
https://vtnea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/beyond-burnout-what-must-be-done-tackle-educator-shortage
Pauline: I came on your Soul of the Nation writing through Keillor's site and want to congratulate you on both its content and intent. I have been of similar mind for many of my 87 years having grown up in a small Midwestern town of Mansfield OH during WWII and college (DePauw U.) as a 50's generation kid during which time many of your thoughts and proposals were actually working. WWII had brought the country together and it had stayed mostly that way until the next war - this time born of typical political lies and stupidity - Vietnam. I served 3 years as a USNavy Officer and was released just before that started. A wife, three kids, and an engineering career in the industrial manufacturing world followed along with 55 years of touring on weekends playing music in a dixieland band including many trips to your West Coast at various jazz festivals which were attended by thousands of former WWII veterans and others from that generation. Thus my state of life was established.
Your observations and lament are accurate. However, after much hand wringing about the situation including Trumpism, I was recently directed by a retired MD friend to a book which explains the situation better than anything read or experienced in life before. Its called "The Eleven Nations of North America" by Colin Woodard. My education was as good as it got during the 40's-50's. Teachers dressed for the occasion, were well qualified, and respected by their students. Religious influence on public schools and governmental activity was at a minimum basically restricted to various "standard" forms of churches (none of the "mega" variety yet). Broadcasting stations of all types were restricted to "fair and balanced" reporting - no Limbaughs, Jones, Fox, or shock jocks. The Republican discarding of this rule alone has caused infinite amounts of national thought destruction.
What I didn't learn or become aware of until recently was that the USA is not a homogeneous configuration of peoples emanating from Plymouth Rock - as I had thought I was taught. So to get to the point, as the book points out, there are at least eleven different groups of peoples with their myriad of thoughts, cultural heritage, religious leanings, experiences, problem solving methods, brain power, etc. that make it essentially impossible for a "common" sense as you propose to take root. Obviously religious thought (an oxymoron itself) is a large element but not the only one. Heritage, class, genetics, are all in the mix - to say nothing about the fact that since I was in high school the US population has doubled. Twice as many cats to herd. I live here now in the Princeton NJ bubble of academics and generational Democrats who knew little of the Midwestern de-industrialization which has contributed as well (my hometown is a shadow of what it was during my growing up years becoming Trumpy in the process).