Robert,
Great name! I have actually always been known to family and friends by my middle name, Barry. However, in signing up in this kind of format, a formal first name is typically expected.
I think that you have interpreted what Arendt quite accurately with regard to how someone such as Reagan modifies or layers over ideas and concept…
Great name! I have actually always been known to family and friends by my middle name, Barry. However, in signing up in this kind of format, a formal first name is typically expected.
I think that you have interpreted what Arendt quite accurately with regard to how someone such as Reagan modifies or layers over ideas and conceptualizations from the past and thus paves the way from others who are more stringent, extreme, undemocratic, or lacking in compassion or conscience. That is a political analysis or perspective and bears close scrutiny, for certain.
You have described the process whereby people become disillusioned and bitter, and authoritarians exploit their disaffection and alienation very well also. Trump was ready to move in and sell his snake oil when the time was right or ripe. Distributive justice is no doubt at play here, I agree. As to whether “our educational system is the primary determinant of authoritarianism”, we will need about 45 hours of nuanced debate to resolve that question.
As I have stated somewhere recently, we do not have an “educational system”. Education does not occur within or as a product of a system. We have controlled chaos and we have a lot of schooling which is inimical to the educational process for a majority of children. I hate to be the skunk at the party, but I am committed to telling it like it is.
I see the issue of giving “educators” a pass and minimizing their failures as highlighting the precise dynamic that is central to our political debacle. Authority is an indispensable feature of a hierarchical “system” created and maintained to fulfill the requirements of attendance law. Authoritarianism springs forth from that institutionalization because it is part and parcel of the architecture.
Explicit, as well as implicit with all codified laws are the threats of enforcement and the intimidation that accompanies the possibility (or high probability) of negative consequences. More importantly, the idea of legitimacy is inherent in the existence of the law. The authority of school officials, administrators, teachers, and others is contrived and manufactured and assigned with little or no identifiable or verifiable legitimacy. In many instances, it is premised on little more than the raw power, size, and designated authority given to adults based solely on their adult status.
The unintentional, and very often the intentional perspective on authority in the school is that it is benevolent and deserved. Whether a teacher seizes upon it to rule and dominate, or whether she or he is measured, tolerant, and egalitarian, everyone is well aware that authority is not far below the surface and that teachers will face consequences if it is not asserted adequately. This is how the “I alone can fix it” mentality of Trump became the firm conviction of millions. This is just one of the ways authoritarianism, as an essential good, steals into the worldview of so many impressionable young people.
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic will spare no one the unpleasant reality that the ship is going down because we have hit the iceberg full steam ahead. Methodology is just another word for nothing left to lose. We will either come to the realization that bad laws yield miseducation and banality or we will all see our beloved democracy go the way of the horse and buggy.
I sort of assumed that Thom knew that. I guess I assumed too much.
Robert,
Great name! I have actually always been known to family and friends by my middle name, Barry. However, in signing up in this kind of format, a formal first name is typically expected.
I think that you have interpreted what Arendt quite accurately with regard to how someone such as Reagan modifies or layers over ideas and conceptualizations from the past and thus paves the way from others who are more stringent, extreme, undemocratic, or lacking in compassion or conscience. That is a political analysis or perspective and bears close scrutiny, for certain.
You have described the process whereby people become disillusioned and bitter, and authoritarians exploit their disaffection and alienation very well also. Trump was ready to move in and sell his snake oil when the time was right or ripe. Distributive justice is no doubt at play here, I agree. As to whether “our educational system is the primary determinant of authoritarianism”, we will need about 45 hours of nuanced debate to resolve that question.
As I have stated somewhere recently, we do not have an “educational system”. Education does not occur within or as a product of a system. We have controlled chaos and we have a lot of schooling which is inimical to the educational process for a majority of children. I hate to be the skunk at the party, but I am committed to telling it like it is.
I see the issue of giving “educators” a pass and minimizing their failures as highlighting the precise dynamic that is central to our political debacle. Authority is an indispensable feature of a hierarchical “system” created and maintained to fulfill the requirements of attendance law. Authoritarianism springs forth from that institutionalization because it is part and parcel of the architecture.
Explicit, as well as implicit with all codified laws are the threats of enforcement and the intimidation that accompanies the possibility (or high probability) of negative consequences. More importantly, the idea of legitimacy is inherent in the existence of the law. The authority of school officials, administrators, teachers, and others is contrived and manufactured and assigned with little or no identifiable or verifiable legitimacy. In many instances, it is premised on little more than the raw power, size, and designated authority given to adults based solely on their adult status.
The unintentional, and very often the intentional perspective on authority in the school is that it is benevolent and deserved. Whether a teacher seizes upon it to rule and dominate, or whether she or he is measured, tolerant, and egalitarian, everyone is well aware that authority is not far below the surface and that teachers will face consequences if it is not asserted adequately. This is how the “I alone can fix it” mentality of Trump became the firm conviction of millions. This is just one of the ways authoritarianism, as an essential good, steals into the worldview of so many impressionable young people.
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic will spare no one the unpleasant reality that the ship is going down because we have hit the iceberg full steam ahead. Methodology is just another word for nothing left to lose. We will either come to the realization that bad laws yield miseducation and banality or we will all see our beloved democracy go the way of the horse and buggy.
I sort of assumed that Thom knew that. I guess I assumed too much.