I feel the passion in this essay. A strong passion communicated softly. Well done Alex.
Now I will save this post in my head as a companion piece to C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man:
"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."
I’m glad you used the term “on the test.” Modern education has produced a whole class of people whose only question is, “Is this gonna be on the test?” They graduate to ask themselves, “Is this part of the Approved Narrative?”
I vaguely remember being instructed at some point to eschew the "Great Man" theory of history because they were all flawed (like university professors aren't), but I never could. I studied several obsessively. Many years later, my most recent great man book was a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Several years ago I read a book called "Guns, Germs and Steel," the idea of which is that Western Civilization didn't deliberately accomplish anything, that its growth and development was a series of accidents of history. To this author, random environmental factors made it possible for the West to conquer the Western hemisphere and Australia, displacing the indigenous inhabitants. According to the author, the habits of thought, discipline and actions of the conquerors were not really factors. He ignored the improvements in the standards of living for everyone that the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution brought about. As I was reading it I knew it was a bunch of malarky that was written to appeal to perpetual victims and discourage everyone else from accomplishing anything worthwhile.
Great article. I’m a history teacher. I’ve become very distraught when searching for good history videos for kids because of the extreme criticism directed at historic figures, or the tacking on of current day political agendas. For example, a Ted-Ed (for kids) on Enheduanna delved into her supposed bisexuality, a kid’s book called “What Was the Age of Exploration” contained vitriolic attacks on Magellan, a Time video about the American Civil War warned viewers that one modern day political party are racists hell bent on suppression of black votes. It’s Orwellian, exhausting, and demoralizing.
I feel the passion in this essay. A strong passion communicated softly. Well done Alex.
Now I will save this post in my head as a companion piece to C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man:
"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."
Classic and spot on!
Great post! Reminds me of the last few lines of the poem:
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Nice thought from Longfellow. From another American poet:
Lowell called Lincoln "a type of the true elder race,
And one of Plutarch's men talked with us face to face."
So glad you left academia! Your podcast is the best.
Great poast. Thanks Alex!
I’m glad you used the term “on the test.” Modern education has produced a whole class of people whose only question is, “Is this gonna be on the test?” They graduate to ask themselves, “Is this part of the Approved Narrative?”
I vaguely remember being instructed at some point to eschew the "Great Man" theory of history because they were all flawed (like university professors aren't), but I never could. I studied several obsessively. Many years later, my most recent great man book was a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Several years ago I read a book called "Guns, Germs and Steel," the idea of which is that Western Civilization didn't deliberately accomplish anything, that its growth and development was a series of accidents of history. To this author, random environmental factors made it possible for the West to conquer the Western hemisphere and Australia, displacing the indigenous inhabitants. According to the author, the habits of thought, discipline and actions of the conquerors were not really factors. He ignored the improvements in the standards of living for everyone that the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution brought about. As I was reading it I knew it was a bunch of malarky that was written to appeal to perpetual victims and discourage everyone else from accomplishing anything worthwhile.
Great article. I’m a history teacher. I’ve become very distraught when searching for good history videos for kids because of the extreme criticism directed at historic figures, or the tacking on of current day political agendas. For example, a Ted-Ed (for kids) on Enheduanna delved into her supposed bisexuality, a kid’s book called “What Was the Age of Exploration” contained vitriolic attacks on Magellan, a Time video about the American Civil War warned viewers that one modern day political party are racists hell bent on suppression of black votes. It’s Orwellian, exhausting, and demoralizing.