Understanding In An Uncertain World

Understanding in an uncertain world The Norman Transcript September 10, 2005 12:30 am — For The Transcript The years of youth are a wonderful time of life. Health, vigor, exuberance and the slow awareness of expanding experience assure an innocent happiness. The young are saved from much pain and anguish by the myopia of immaturity and shortsighted idealism. But the mysterious processes of life bring them ever closer to reality by the impact of experience and the slow enlargement of understanding. We would understand our world and ourselves better if all of us made a clear distinction between the "why" and the "how" of change. In so far as human life and destiny and cosmology are concerned, "why" is primarily a metaphysical, theological or philosophical question. It reduces itself to matters of hope and faith. "How" is principally a technological-scientific question. It is concerned with force, pressure, mass, speed and the processes of material change. The popular mind gets the two mixed up and thereby jumbles what we think we know, which is often false, with what we objectively know, which is probably true. The result is likely to end in dogma, confident rejection with those who disagree and ultimately in violence. Without a philosophic sense of the nature of change one lives in a state of presumption, a kind of confusion that erases careful thought. Indispensable for clear thinking is understanding that everything changes; nothing abides. Cosmic processes are forcing change; the sun's radiation is assuring change; the old wears out, biological evolution is everywhere. And in our immediate world the dynamic quality of technology is inherently a force for change. Creative minds that work in science and engineering, often deeply imbedded in conviction and commitment, encourage it. And always facilitating change are the surging emotions of the human race. It is a curious fact that change being a universal phenomenon, some people deny it and others struggle to resist it. And some fail to see how hard it is to control. One plague of humanity is the illusion of permanence. Such diverse groups as politicians and theologians stumble over this problem. Hitler thought the Third Reich would last a thousand years; after much unnecessary brutality it perished in the smoke and fire of allied armies after 12 years. With a sense of pathos one listens to an evangelist from Virginia boast to his congregation that his movement can "evangelize the world in this generation." The bitter irony is he cannot evangelize Lynchburg or Washington, D.C., let alone the world. Some changes are all but imperceptible ? aging for example. Others are slow, but recognizable if we are attentive ? growth of knowledge illustrates the point. And others are crushing and violent ? war is the classic instance. Our need is perception and discrimination. We learn so slowly, ignore too readily and forget so soon. Basic to overcoming these limitations of the human mind is motivation. Achieving successful motivation is the preeminent pedagogical problem. For all their admirable effort and expenditure Colleges of Education have failed to solve this problem; for all their brilliant successes, Colleges of Arts and Sciences give it only scant attention at best. On the path to understanding, the young are often confronted with difficult hurdles. Unfortunately our society suffers a kind of moral-political rigidity. Those who hold wealth and power frequently share with reluctance and have no intention of giving up either. Generally they hold government expenditures for health and education to a minimum. Many view taxes as an evil even if need and suffering are evident. This is one reason medical insurance is inadequate. According to Google 45,000,000 Americans have none, and many who do find it insufficient. The first requirement of medical service ? aside from maintaining the quality skill and independence of the physician ? should be adequate coverage for all citizens. Similarly, the first requirement of education ? aside from maintaining the quality of teachers and assuring their academic freedom ? should be free education for all citizens. University tuition in public institutions is exorbitant. The result tends to make

higher education available in proportion to income rather than ability. This is anti-democratic and entails a self-defeating quality for a free society. The cost of scientific equipment, laboratories, libraries and related materials as well as faculty salaries should all come from government appropriations. And the money should come from taxation. Since private schools have a self-restricted agenda, the state owes them no financial support. They are free to charge whatever tuition they choose. Possibly our confused condition, jumbled emotions and hedonistic passions means the young in some degree must suffer inadequate medical care. And it may also mean they must educate themselves. If they can muster the drive, energy and thoughtful inquisitiveness to understand our unstable and inequitable world, they may well assure a happy future. If they cannot, their only hope may rest in the grace of a forgiving Deity. Preoccupation with secondary or unimportant questions can easily serve as an obstacle to understanding. Many of the problems with which we occupy ourselves ? the stock market, the bottom line, winning and promotion ? are secondary when contrasted with the problem of effectively passing on to the young the wisdom of the human race. The gift of wisdom is illumination, understanding. Science, literature, history, philosophy and related studies can lead us to this end. Unfortunately, obstructions to effective transmission are numerous. Not only are secondary distractions ever-present, knowledge itself is complex; the educational process is sometimes cumbersome; teachers may not necessarily be helpful; and there is always the albatross of human lethargy. Additionally, the curse of hedonism has burdened us from the beginning as the old Hebrew prophets and early Christian theologians understood. And from those who, for whatever reason, fail to grow up emotionally is the virus of authoritarianism. This disability is usually characteristic of a person needing to dominate others and who then readily submits to those who are stronger. Intolerance and egotism are readily evident just as power is a compulsive goal of the authoritarian. These qualities usually corrupt human relations and stand in the way of democratic behavior and understanding. Unverifiable predictions are the "gifts" of prophets and dreamers. They are the expressions of our hopes and fears grounded on marginal reality. The world scarcely needs more jeremiads or shamanism, but it does need more untarnished realism to counter the lethal contradictions and absurdities of our times. These latter damage understanding. In many respects the record of the human race is brilliant and creative, although it is blindly bungling in others. Many blunders are morally reprehensible, sociologically transparent and rationally solvable. Note some evident ones: indifference to suffering; neglect of the poor; insanity of war; corruption in the market place; easy purchase of integrity; waste of vital resources; distortion of justice.... These lapses we need to face, acknowledge and try to resolve. Too many politicians seem more interested in playing the money game and advancing the privileges of vested interests than they do in protecting the public welfare. The crises they neglect are visible even in the haze of the beclouded future. Attention to the consequences of neglect is one measure of intelligence and one form of moral redemption. Lloyd Williams is a retired educator. His column runs in The Transcript every other Saturday. Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.