"But what of today’s youth? They seem to have little awareness of history..." Correct.
I live in central Florida, here in the U.S.. Last week I went to get a haircut at my local barbershop. Talking to the barber (who's over 70) while he was cutting my hair, we got into a discussion about the USA's involvement in the Vietnam war (he enlisted. I didn't; luckily for me, the draft ended in 1973, when I was 16).
Anyway, during our discussion, he said, "you want to hear something really astounding?" Of course, I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that two weeks earlier, he had a young boy in for a haircut, who's a senior at the local high school. The barber started discussing the Vietnam war with the youngster, when the youngster interrupted him and asked, "What's Vietnam?" The barber was stunned. The kid had no idea about Vietnam.
I was stunned too when the barber related that story to me.
The tiny dopamine vending machine glued to the hand has much to answer for in my opinion. The 3 year Corona Chronicle has just accentuated that feedback loop. It will be a rare youth now that prefers a tome and the coming surge of blood brain barrier (dysfunction) due to the COVID injections, might make this habit further rare. Our four teens respect my rule of no phones upstairs (where we sleep) or at the dinner table, which has created a little bit more space for book reading and discussion of same. Schools are dangerous places (it seems) and browsing Project Veritas archives have illustrated some nefarious actors at play masquerading as teachers running their own woke agenda's concurrently with the curriculum. History and what has brought us to this point in time doesn't seem to have relevance apparently, so a chapter excerpt of a novel doesn't surprise me one bit. Well done to that young lady and thank goodness for her intrinsic motivation.
Used to be it was parents, especially Mom, that taught their children, and Dad in his own way. Now, and for the last seven decades or so, both tax-burdoned parents dump their kids off at the gov-traing center whereupon their once happy, curious little minds are force-fed the 'proper' indoctrination. I don't hear those sweet, innocent questions anymore: "Why is the sky blue?" "Where do babies come from?" Remember? Silent Spring indeed. Homeschooling,, bless their hearts, is making a dent; those parents are nothing short of Heroes. That's how one learns; by being guided by those who care about them.
How true! Thank you for reminding us of what has transpired over these decades, the purposefully constructed centralisation and the demolition of parental and familial responsibility.
There are letters between Jung and Freud about Freud’s insistence that all students of psychiatry undergo analysis as part of their training. Jung is insisting that Freud should also “submit” to the procedure and Freud is refusing! It is a hilarious exposure of Freud’s own neurosis!
actually Freud conducted a self-analysis for years, with the help of a correspondent, Wilhelm Fliess. Freud recommended that all prospective analysts (and there is a distinction between psychoanalysts and psychiatrists) undergo analyses as part of their training. He had a wonderful correspondence with E. Pickworth Farrow who could not endure his analysts and consequently performed his own self-analysis. The goal of every analysis is indeed self-analysis. Walter Kaufmann's three volume "Discovering the Mind" looks at the Freud-Jung relationship. Freud, like all of us, had his issues -- and probably the most glaring was his having misexplained away a lesion caused by his cigar smoking that became cancerous. Freud continued to smoke even with his prostheses -- he underwent many surgeries for oral cancer.
I watched several movies about Jung. One of them covered a period early in his career, I think it was his first job at a state hospital/asylum. One of the patients was a young doctor who was commited by his father. In an early scene, he is having quick sex with one of the young women out in the garden as Jung walks by. Later, a fetching dark-haired beauty comes in as a patient, she is a gibbering wreck after years of sexual abuse by her father. Jung undertakes to help her, using “the talking cure” he is studying with Freud. He is also having professional talks with the young crazy doctor, who astutely points out that Jung is desperately attracted to his beautiful abuse patient (lol, whatta mess!) Should he go for it and disrupt his picture-perfect but boring storybook marriage to a blond Nordic Bombshell? He is torn. The crazy doctor casually advises Jung: “ one thing I can tell you, repression is futile!” Jung goes for it and cures his blue balls. Additionally, his patient initiates him into the joys of non-vanilla sex. She starts writing papers, stops gibbering, and becomes a psychoanalyst herself, making important contributions with her insights into S+M. Those were the good old days, before the conventions in the field got too hidebound, and people started worrying too much about transference and white privelege, “me too” and all that shit.
"But what of today’s youth? They seem to have little awareness of history..." Correct.
I live in central Florida, here in the U.S.. Last week I went to get a haircut at my local barbershop. Talking to the barber (who's over 70) while he was cutting my hair, we got into a discussion about the USA's involvement in the Vietnam war (he enlisted. I didn't; luckily for me, the draft ended in 1973, when I was 16).
Anyway, during our discussion, he said, "you want to hear something really astounding?" Of course, I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that two weeks earlier, he had a young boy in for a haircut, who's a senior at the local high school. The barber started discussing the Vietnam war with the youngster, when the youngster interrupted him and asked, "What's Vietnam?" The barber was stunned. The kid had no idea about Vietnam.
I was stunned too when the barber related that story to me.
incredible ... but, I suppose, not surprising; thank you for relating this.
History is irrelevant? I can't imagine school without history.
The tiny dopamine vending machine glued to the hand has much to answer for in my opinion. The 3 year Corona Chronicle has just accentuated that feedback loop. It will be a rare youth now that prefers a tome and the coming surge of blood brain barrier (dysfunction) due to the COVID injections, might make this habit further rare. Our four teens respect my rule of no phones upstairs (where we sleep) or at the dinner table, which has created a little bit more space for book reading and discussion of same. Schools are dangerous places (it seems) and browsing Project Veritas archives have illustrated some nefarious actors at play masquerading as teachers running their own woke agenda's concurrently with the curriculum. History and what has brought us to this point in time doesn't seem to have relevance apparently, so a chapter excerpt of a novel doesn't surprise me one bit. Well done to that young lady and thank goodness for her intrinsic motivation.
there's nothing like a real book in hand ...
And what was her understanding of the book???? Like you I wonder if any are seeing that they are living a lie.
What a lovely post.
On a side note, I quoted your beautiful poem in my latest (in the poetry section at the end). Thank you for creating such beauty.
and thank YOU!
God bless the autodidactic among us.
how else can one learn???
Used to be it was parents, especially Mom, that taught their children, and Dad in his own way. Now, and for the last seven decades or so, both tax-burdoned parents dump their kids off at the gov-traing center whereupon their once happy, curious little minds are force-fed the 'proper' indoctrination. I don't hear those sweet, innocent questions anymore: "Why is the sky blue?" "Where do babies come from?" Remember? Silent Spring indeed. Homeschooling,, bless their hearts, is making a dent; those parents are nothing short of Heroes. That's how one learns; by being guided by those who care about them.
How true! Thank you for reminding us of what has transpired over these decades, the purposefully constructed centralisation and the demolition of parental and familial responsibility.
We need to follow your example and become agents of vhange.
Brilliantly written.
Yes, there is hope yet... Thank you for this!
There are letters between Jung and Freud about Freud’s insistence that all students of psychiatry undergo analysis as part of their training. Jung is insisting that Freud should also “submit” to the procedure and Freud is refusing! It is a hilarious exposure of Freud’s own neurosis!
actually Freud conducted a self-analysis for years, with the help of a correspondent, Wilhelm Fliess. Freud recommended that all prospective analysts (and there is a distinction between psychoanalysts and psychiatrists) undergo analyses as part of their training. He had a wonderful correspondence with E. Pickworth Farrow who could not endure his analysts and consequently performed his own self-analysis. The goal of every analysis is indeed self-analysis. Walter Kaufmann's three volume "Discovering the Mind" looks at the Freud-Jung relationship. Freud, like all of us, had his issues -- and probably the most glaring was his having misexplained away a lesion caused by his cigar smoking that became cancerous. Freud continued to smoke even with his prostheses -- he underwent many surgeries for oral cancer.
I watched several movies about Jung. One of them covered a period early in his career, I think it was his first job at a state hospital/asylum. One of the patients was a young doctor who was commited by his father. In an early scene, he is having quick sex with one of the young women out in the garden as Jung walks by. Later, a fetching dark-haired beauty comes in as a patient, she is a gibbering wreck after years of sexual abuse by her father. Jung undertakes to help her, using “the talking cure” he is studying with Freud. He is also having professional talks with the young crazy doctor, who astutely points out that Jung is desperately attracted to his beautiful abuse patient (lol, whatta mess!) Should he go for it and disrupt his picture-perfect but boring storybook marriage to a blond Nordic Bombshell? He is torn. The crazy doctor casually advises Jung: “ one thing I can tell you, repression is futile!” Jung goes for it and cures his blue balls. Additionally, his patient initiates him into the joys of non-vanilla sex. She starts writing papers, stops gibbering, and becomes a psychoanalyst herself, making important contributions with her insights into S+M. Those were the good old days, before the conventions in the field got too hidebound, and people started worrying too much about transference and white privelege, “me too” and all that shit.
fascinating, I think I know who that dark haired person was, a Russian ... These are very complex issues.