{"id":2083,"date":"2013-02-08T21:55:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2013\/02\/why-were-in-trouble.html"},"modified":"2013-02-08T21:55:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T21:55:00","slug":"why-were-in-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2013\/02\/why-were-in-trouble.html","title":{"rendered":"Why we&#8217;re in trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/715\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-DSBt7kygbtU\/URW5uR5-HvI\/AAAAAAAAEWU\/pWDEPf9A66c\/s1600\/rocky+and+bullwinkle.jpg\" style=\"clear: right;float: right;margin-bottom: 1em;margin-left: 1em\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"237\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/715\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-DSBt7kygbtU\/URW5uR5-HvI\/AAAAAAAAEWU\/pWDEPf9A66c\/s320\/rocky+and+bullwinkle.jpg\" width=\"320\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Because we look at our\u00a0education\u00a0systems solely as a way to keep up with the world in math and science and to make money. \u00a0We promote STEM exclusively (that\u2019s Science\u00a0Technology\u00a0Engineering and Math). \u00a0Schools I\u2019ve experienced devote probably 80% of their focus to the hard sciences, technology,\u00a0innovation.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong. \u00a0Despite some claims that I begrudge everything from round wheels to the latest iPhone, I don\u2019t. \u00a0Really. \u00a0Innovation can be good, wonderful. \u00a0It can solve problems. \u00a0Of course it can also create new ones. \u00a0Seldom in life are there cases where we don\u2019t have to trade one thing for another. \u00a0But still, advancements are good. \u00a0So is math. \u00a0So is science. \u00a0So is\u00a0engineering.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the thing. \u00a0STEM, if I may borrow the acronym, is about what we can do. \u00a0The Liberal Arts, on the other hand \u2013 literature, history, philosophy to name a few \u2013 are about what we should do. \u00a0We\u2019re already in a time and place where people spend more time fretting over Beyonce\u2019s\u00a0lip-syncing, or anything else she does with her lips for that matter, than the growing disparity of wealth in our nation, our\u00a0country\u2019s\u00a0declining role in the world, emerging problems in Africa and Asia, or any one of a thousand\u00a0important\u00a0issues. \u00a0Let alone\u00a0contemplating\u00a0moral evils and truths, eternal salvation or any of that. <\/p>\n<p>So it doesn\u2019t come as a shock that <a href=\"http:\/\/education.yahoo.net\/articles\/degrees_not_to_earn.htm;jsessionid=4FEADE912279BCF71D59483E36BC4856?kid=1NUJI\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">we read articles reminding us of what college majors are pure poison<\/a>, based purely on earning potential. \u00a0Top of the list? \u00a0Liberal Arts, the\u00a0discipline\u00a0that\u2019s supposed to help us, among other things, learn not to sell our birthrights for bowls of stew. \u00a0I know, some of what passes for liberal arts today in many\u00a0institutions\u00a0of higher education has less intellectual value than an episode of <i>Rocky and Bullwinkle<\/i>. \u00a0But in it all,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0till that clarion call to seek wisdom. \u00a0Intelligence, the domain of math and science, is important, and every time I go to the doctor I\u2019m thankful for those who place value in that realm. \u00a0But wisdom, that gift which Solomon asked from God, is the stuff that gives us pause. \u00a0Intelligence\u00a0asks <i>can <\/i>it be done, wisdom asks\u00a0<i>should\u00a0<\/i>it be done. \u00a0To decide, based on profit alone, that it\u2019s better to just ask what can be done, because that\u2019s where the big bucks are, doesn\u2019t bode well for future generations, at least IMHO. \u00a0That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because we look at our\u00a0education\u00a0systems solely as a way to keep up with the world in math and science and to make money. \u00a0We promote STEM exclusively (that\u2019s Science\u00a0Technology\u00a0Engineering and Math). \u00a0Schools I\u2019ve experienced devote probably 80% of their focus to the hard sciences, technology,\u00a0innovation. Don\u2019t get me wrong. \u00a0Despite some claims that I begrudge [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why we&#039;re in trouble<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Because we look at our&nbsp;education&nbsp;systems solely as a way to keep up with the world in math and science and to make money. &nbsp;We promote STEM\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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