Putting Our Brains on Hold
By BOB HERBERT
NYT
The world leadership qualities of the United States, once so prevalent, are fading faster than the polar ice caps.
We once set the standard for industrial might, for the advanced state of our physical infrastructure, and for the quality of our citizens’ lives. All are experiencing significant decline.
The latest dismal news on the leadership front comes from the College Board, which tells us that the U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations.
At a time when a college education is needed more than ever to establish and maintain a middle-class standard of living, America’s young people are moving in exactly the wrong direction. A well-educated population also is crucially important if the U.S. is to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment.
But instead of exercising the appropriate mental muscles, we’re allowing ourselves to become a nation of nitwits, obsessed with the comings and goings of Lindsay Lohan and increasingly oblivious to crucially important societal issues that are all but screaming for attention. What should we be doing about the legions of jobless Americans, the deteriorating public schools, the debilitating wars, the scandalous economic inequality, the corporate hold on governmental affairs, the commercialization of the arts, the deficits?
(More here.)
NYT
The world leadership qualities of the United States, once so prevalent, are fading faster than the polar ice caps.
We once set the standard for industrial might, for the advanced state of our physical infrastructure, and for the quality of our citizens’ lives. All are experiencing significant decline.
The latest dismal news on the leadership front comes from the College Board, which tells us that the U.S., once the world’s leader in the percentage of young people with college degrees, has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations.
At a time when a college education is needed more than ever to establish and maintain a middle-class standard of living, America’s young people are moving in exactly the wrong direction. A well-educated population also is crucially important if the U.S. is to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment.
But instead of exercising the appropriate mental muscles, we’re allowing ourselves to become a nation of nitwits, obsessed with the comings and goings of Lindsay Lohan and increasingly oblivious to crucially important societal issues that are all but screaming for attention. What should we be doing about the legions of jobless Americans, the deteriorating public schools, the debilitating wars, the scandalous economic inequality, the corporate hold on governmental affairs, the commercialization of the arts, the deficits?
(More here.)
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2 Comments:
... brings back memories of the time we hosted a family Thanksgiving with out-of-state relatives. I discovered a People magazine on a coffee table and promptly threw it away. Later on my guests were looking for it and I told them that instead of having trash delivered to our home we recycle it. Being a kind host, I offered back copies of the National Review, Thomas Sowell books, Heritage Foundation materials, Cato literature, Ayn Rand books, books on the founders (various), exposed them to the Federalist Papers, the Washington Times for some fun, easy and entertaining reading and, to help balance their thinking, back copies of the liberal Economist magazine and green National Geographic. They attempted to read the National Review but quickly gave out. I find it no small wonder that these same guests consistently vote liberal, clueless to the major issues, because they like how the person looks or think that they sound "nicer."
I just finished listening to John Adams (by David Mc) and was struck by how different a college education was in the late 1700's. My have we slipped. I am not sure that a Bachelors degree today could compare to a high school diploma in 1776. I'd like to learn more about why the difference exists and how it came about - I have some theories that are hard for me to shake, one is that I suspect today's higher education faculty is the least diverse group in the country.
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