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.

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