Excuse Me, While I Kiss the Sky...

Thank Vaal* It's Friday!

"Don't mention it...Seriously, don't fucking speak to me!"

*Click here, if you dare!

...and the Horse You Rode In On

The title of today's post is part of the lyric from the Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze." I just happened to hear the song again this morning for the first time in quite awhile, and its tale of someone who can't tell up from down, can't tell whether he's happy or miserable, isn't sure whether he's coming or going, happened to resonate with me. There is just a whole lot of really topsy-turvy thinking in the modern world, and I struggle to make sense of it pretty much every day. It staggers me, for instance, that we even need to have conversations about whether free speech is a good thing, but we do...

As a professional educator, and as an author, the anti-intellectualism running rampant on modern college campuses these days is one of those topsy-turvy situations as well. Honestly, it is enough to make me despair for the future of education.

The most recent instance that has come to my attention is an editorial written by some delicate flowers who belong to something with the pompous title Multicultural Affairs Advisory Board at Columbia University. Published in the campus newspaper, it argued that

Students need to feel safe in the classroom, and that requires a learning environment that recognizes the multiplicity of their identities. The MAAB has been meeting with administration and faculty in the Center for the Core Curriculum to determine how to create such a space. The Board has recommended three measures: First, we proposed that the center issue a letter to faculty about potential trigger warnings and suggestions for how to support triggered students. Next, we noted that there should be a mechanism for students to communicate their concerns to professors anonymously, as well as a mediation mechanism for students who have identity-based disagreements with professors. Finally, the center should create a training program for all professors, including faculty and graduate instructors, which will enable them to constructively facilitate conversations that embrace all identities, share best practices, and think critically about how the Core Curriculum is framed for their students.

In other words, a student's desire to "feel safe" (meaning to have her/his "identity" as a rape survivor, person of color, etc., validated at every turn) trumps the inclusion in course content of material that might cause these delicate flowers some discomfort. Honestly, this is quite an ingenious racket. A bright student ought to be able to come up with excuses not to read any of the required material in their courses...

Once upon a time, the purpose of higher education was, you know, getting an education. These days, it is all about getting the credential, and not much more. Life-long learning? What's the point of that?

In his excellent book What Does It Mean To Be Well-Educated?, my hero Alfie Kohn observed that

[A]ny set of intellectual objectives, any description of what it means to think deeply and critically, should be accompanied by a reference to one’s interest or intrinsic motivation to do such thinking. Dewey reminded us that the goal of education is more education. To be well-educated, then, is to have the desire as well as the means to make sure that learning never ends.

Or, to put it another way, if you're in college and can't stand reading or hearing things that "trigger" you, or "oppress" you in some vague, unspecified way, you should drop out. You're just wasting your time anyway...

Things That Make Me Happy: History Edition

Today my beloved Kansas City Royals are in Chicago to begin a three-game series with the Cubs. That means I get to savor watching my favorite players running around here:

101-year-old Wrigley Field is a baseball marvel.

I'm hoping those ivy-covered walls inspire the team to snap its four-game losing streak...

The Harsh Reality Behind The Aphorism

Things That Make Me Happy: Dead Cow Edition

While composing yesterday's post, it completely slipped my mind that May 28th is National Hamburger Day. I'm sure those of you who care about such things celebrated in the appropriate manner. This is what I had for dinner last night:

Double Cheddar Burger Basket

I had this deliciousness at a nearby Culver's, which is one of my favorite burger joints ever. In (belated) honor of NHD, here are some other members of my Dead Cow Sandwich Hall of Fame (alphabetical order):

Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Believe the hype, folks. Not to be missed. Might be the best French fries I have ever tasted...





 






Hardee's offers a Mushroom & Swiss Thickburger with Curly Fries combo that is tough to beat. I drive out of my way sometimes just to have this ...

Back in 1977 when I had a job where I didn't get off work sometimes until the wee hours of the morning, I was VERY fond of a Jack in the Box near me that had all-night drive-through service. I had a serious Jumbo Jack fetish in those days, and I loved their fries...

Steak 'n Shake has terrific burgers, but it's a good thing they have great onion rings, too, because their fries are quite ordinary...

Winstead's has without a doubt the best combination of burgers, fries, AND onion rings of anyone, anywhere. I have been enjoying their splendid fare for more than 40 years...



All of these places not only have awesome food, but are in one way or another associated with people who have mattered in my life, and peak experiences I was lucky enough to share with them...

"Hmmmm...do any of those places have ants?"

Not on purpose, no...

A Commencement Speech Worth Your Time

Because I'm a speech communication guy, I tend to listen to speeches when I don't have to. Weird, I know, but there you go. A friend drew my attention to this particular commencement address the other day, and I enjoyed it enough I wanted to share. It's about half an hour long, and since it is a commencement address it might not interest many people outside of the Hillsdale College graduating class, but it really is an excellent speech, and will repay your close attention. If you don't like it, feel free to ask for your money back. Oh, wait...

Irony Files: Clueless Magazine Edition

Thanks to Joe Colangelo for this one...

Until Next Time...

One of the glories of the internet is that one can stumble across the most amazing things while looking for something entirely different. Today's fine arts sign-off is a case in point. It would take too long to explain how I happened to stumble across this, but I'm glad I did. A fellow named Seth Whiting shot this video, and paired it with A.A. Bondy's wonderful "A Slow Parade" because that song just happened to be coming over his headphones at the time. That's what I call serendipity. I am especially fond of this song because I used it in a production of the play Flowers for Algernon that I directed in 2010. Have I mentioned that I'm a really sentimental guy?

"That's putting it mildly..."

Oh, hush...anyway, another of the glories of the internet is that you don't get to see me weep as I watch and listen. Enjoy...