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"The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness, both deeds of no account and deeds which are mighty and worthy of commemoration. . .Nevertheless, the science of History is a great bulwark against the stream of Time; in a way it checks this irresistible flood, it holds in a tight grasp whatever it can seize floating on the surface and will not allow it to slip away into the depths of Oblivion. "
- Anna Comnena (1083-1153), The Alexiad
"I have taken all knowledge to be my province."
- Francis Bacon, 1592
Kids going to college this fall were born the year I graduated from high school. Which means that I was going to bars three years before they were born. It also means that they have no real memory of the Soviet Union's existence. It means the scar on my left thumb from the old "Defender" video game is older than they are. It means the first president they were conscious of was Bill Clinton. They don't remember apartheid. They don't remember when Jesse Jackson wasn't a joke. Or when China took Marxism even remotely seriously. Star Wars was an old movie by the time they saw it and they can't remember when Pat Buchanan was a loyal Republican. Big Brother refers to a TV show first and a book by some dead guy second. Most of them have never used a typewriter, never been in a world where the broadcast-news anchors weren't hemorrhaging viewers to cable, never really did school work without the aid of the Internet, and never knew a time when people didn't have cell phones.
I could go on and on, particularly since there are countless lists that detail this sort of thing all over the web.
I donno what to make of it except the usual thing, time passing and getting older. There really is a difference between generations, based on generational experiences. I've experienced some things that younger people didn't, but they've also experienced things in a way I haven't. When I was in school, both Elementary and High School (two different occasions), my mom came in on some sort of Parent Day, where parents would teach something they knew - she was into photography, and taught us how to develop a photo in a darkroom.
You don't do that, now. That's just one change. I've used mechanical and electric typewriters, that's what we used in High School business class, not computers. Nowdays the kids learn Excel and the like. I had a computer programming class in summerschool once, but the things we learned then - early '80s, would be archaic now. I was aware when the Berlin Wall fell, and watched the whole Tiananmen Square student movement unfold. Those things are history to the people graduating college today. I watched political conventions during the last occasions when they still somewhat resembled political conventions, and they were covered on the networks deep into the night and in full, because they hadn't quite yet evolved into entirely scripted prime-time presentations.
I remember when there were videos on MTV and all that stuff. I remember when Tom Hanks was that TV actor in "Bosum Buddies", not an academy-award winning film actor.
I get a lot of nostalgia nowdays, which is odd because I wasn't particularly happy back then. But things are different now. Almost entirely for the better, actually. But different.
Oh, the thing that is really really annoying now is when I talk to people about "Calvin and Hobbes", they don't know what I'm talking about. That's an appalling lack of education!!! That's vital cultural knowledge!!!
I think the Inaugural Speech hit the right tone, when it comes to foreign affairs:
America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.
I wonder about our ability to succeed in such a vast undertaking. We'll see. I'm increasingly worried about the prospects of success in Iraq - more on that this weekend, I hope.
And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.
We'll see how they react. I think they'll keep expecting us to do what they want regardless of our own views, and asking for the deciding vote in what our policies and actions should be (more here on that assertion).
From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon.
Obligations which I favored taking on, but which are very difficult indeed.
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy … the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments … the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself - and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.
America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.
I joined the Army in no small part to try and add my contribution to that. It's the least I could do.
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time.
There's a lot of work to be done on that score, and no I don't think the creation of a Department of Homeland Security or the new Intelligence "reform" really qualify. It's one thing to move organizational boxes around, it's another thing to change the behavior patterns of the people working in those boxes. The latter is much harder to do. . .and we haven't even begun with the State Department or education yet.
This part here was particularly good:
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.
(Emphasis added). Read the whole speech if you didn't get a chance to watch it, or even if you did.
Not much on the domestic agenda in there, but that's fine. "Laundry List" can wait for the State of the Union speech. I think this one hit the right themes, and even extended a hand to the Administration's critics. Lets see if they'll take it, or just sneer and deride.
Sorry for the utter lack of bloggage lately. I've been a bit distracted. I'm going to try and get on the ball here again. In the meantime, I recommend you check out this site.
