It is remarkable how prophetic C Wright Mills was. Written in 1956, his book The Power Elite predicted our present morass. American education has been destroyed by academic bureaucrats who are neither teachers, nor scholars. As Paul Fussell pointed out in his 1991 book BAD, Or the Dumbing of America, closing all of the "education" grad schools would be a good first step in improving American education. No amount of technological wizardry will ever be able to compete with a classical education composed of reading books you hold in your hands and writing papers in class--by hand. As both a parent watch my kids' education and a professor, I am horrified by the amount of time that is wasted on bad technology. Moreover, it is highly discriminatory to those without access to good computers and internet. Thanks Douglas, you are common sense is refreshing.
You're welcome Peter. I see the same things you do. The "education" degrees are effectively worthless. The EDD 'degree' is a complete farce. I know people with EDD's and I wouldn't let my children in the same room with them. Some of the lowest intellects I know have "educational doctorate" degrees. It's astounding.
Gatto's "The Underground History of American Education" shook me up quite a bit. It covers, chapter and verse, the manner in which the Power Elite were able to stifle an American citizenry who valued literacy and an independent livelihood. I suspect it mirrors Mills' book. I'll have to take a look at "The Power Elite". Sounds like my kind of read.
I'll check out Gatto. Read The Power Elite, it will amaze you. Originally from Texas, C Wright Mills was a remarkable scholar and atypical academic who died very young and did not place nice with most other academics.. While he taught at Columbia, he lived in Rockland County and rode his BMW motorcycle to NYC to teach. He called himself a "Wobblie" (IWW) and when pressed by students about what he truly believed in, Mills replied "German motors." In his famous farewell address, President Eisenhower cited Mills, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
This is an excellent essay, Douglas. I had never heard about Gary and his courageous reporting. Your link to the video Crack in the System shows that YT removed the content, supposedly for a copyright dispute. Haha! Yeah we really believe that one.
Webb was the ultimate investigative reporter. It cost him dearly. It's funny because the real left, the one we grew up with, who have a tripwire sensitivity to the shenanigans of Organized Power, the Chris Hedges' of the world, understand what Webb did.
The uniparty hated Webb. It was one of the first instances of learning that our Overlords run the fake left vs. right debate / battle as pure theater. Webb wasn't having it, and he blew the whistle. Loudly.
It is remarkable how prophetic C Wright Mills was. Written in 1956, his book The Power Elite predicted our present morass. American education has been destroyed by academic bureaucrats who are neither teachers, nor scholars. As Paul Fussell pointed out in his 1991 book BAD, Or the Dumbing of America, closing all of the "education" grad schools would be a good first step in improving American education. No amount of technological wizardry will ever be able to compete with a classical education composed of reading books you hold in your hands and writing papers in class--by hand. As both a parent watch my kids' education and a professor, I am horrified by the amount of time that is wasted on bad technology. Moreover, it is highly discriminatory to those without access to good computers and internet. Thanks Douglas, you are common sense is refreshing.
You're welcome Peter. I see the same things you do. The "education" degrees are effectively worthless. The EDD 'degree' is a complete farce. I know people with EDD's and I wouldn't let my children in the same room with them. Some of the lowest intellects I know have "educational doctorate" degrees. It's astounding.
Gatto's "The Underground History of American Education" shook me up quite a bit. It covers, chapter and verse, the manner in which the Power Elite were able to stifle an American citizenry who valued literacy and an independent livelihood. I suspect it mirrors Mills' book. I'll have to take a look at "The Power Elite". Sounds like my kind of read.
I'll check out Gatto. Read The Power Elite, it will amaze you. Originally from Texas, C Wright Mills was a remarkable scholar and atypical academic who died very young and did not place nice with most other academics.. While he taught at Columbia, he lived in Rockland County and rode his BMW motorcycle to NYC to teach. He called himself a "Wobblie" (IWW) and when pressed by students about what he truly believed in, Mills replied "German motors." In his famous farewell address, President Eisenhower cited Mills, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
I will certainly check out Wright. Sounds like we could use more like him.
This is an excellent essay, Douglas. I had never heard about Gary and his courageous reporting. Your link to the video Crack in the System shows that YT removed the content, supposedly for a copyright dispute. Haha! Yeah we really believe that one.
Webb was the ultimate investigative reporter. It cost him dearly. It's funny because the real left, the one we grew up with, who have a tripwire sensitivity to the shenanigans of Organized Power, the Chris Hedges' of the world, understand what Webb did.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-myth-of-the-free-press/
The uniparty hated Webb. It was one of the first instances of learning that our Overlords run the fake left vs. right debate / battle as pure theater. Webb wasn't having it, and he blew the whistle. Loudly.
The movie is worth a look.
Thank you for the compliment @walk2write