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2000-05-30 || 13:38:32 BrainMind conundrum My point is that I don't think we're a well-rounded race these days, generally. I make a distinction between the Brain and the Mind (my distinction, I make no claims as to its correctness): The Brain is where our science and math and logic and homework and taxes and laws and finances and computers and bus schedules and rent and hydro concerns and thoughts sit. The Mind is where our spiritual and artistic side languishes. In many ways, Mysteria's right: We are taught a general knowledge in school; maths and science take up part of the day, English and French the other, with a break for a gym class and maybe an art class. But the curriculum is still seriously weighted towards what is considered a 'practical' education. Art becomes less important as the education system squeezes us through its gears, until it's an option to be taken at the cost of a gym class or a music class. And don't even start to talk about spiritual education. This is a process that started when the Age of Faith gave way to the Age of Reason, a time when objects of faith started to lose their power over populations, replaced by guys like the Medicis and Galileos, people who set the stage for economics and science to rise, not to complement a spiritual life, but to replace it. Which, in turn, makes it easier to hurt the planet. Fiscal concerns rarely walk on the same side of any issue as do spiritual or ecological ones. I am not saying that I advocate a return to the Church of Rome as the predominent European and American power. Nor am I saying that I want Christian ideology taught in schools. I believe faith should be a personal search, not a prescribed salve. I know how I sound. That's part of the problem: we've had it so beaten into us that spiritual stuff is flake-talk that no-one would be willing to take the risk even if they *DO* think this way. When I was growing up a a Unitarian boy, I went to a very different Sunday School than did my French Canadian Catholic cousins. They were taught about virgin births and how to tell the difference between a seraph and a cherub (note to anyone who watched 'Dogma:' there's no such thing as 'a seraphim'. '-im' means plural), whereas I was given a quick and dirty rundown of what some of the differences were among the major and minor faiths, from the Judaeo-Christian monolith to the traditional beliefs of the local Mohawk communities. We were never taught that one faith was more legitimate than any other, and we were encouraged to think our faith through before deciding of anything. Now, Unitarianism is a free-faith religion, which means that some have a basically Christian belief system, whereas others are more Buddhist or Pagan or whatever, but all share a fundamental respect for human ability. So, There's no danger of losing members to other churches through that kind of sunday school, right ? Who cares ? That's not the point. What I am getting at is that it is possible to open children's eyes to a more spiritual existance without turning them into moon-eyed adherents to any cult, no matter how major, and without overturning the more practical side to a child's education. I think that it would give us truly well-rounded children, who would one day become truly well-rounded legislators. And we all know how much better THAT would be. |
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shite One last little note... - 09.21.2006 de-stressing, biking and terrorism - 06.06.2006 Mildly stressed... - 05.29.2006 More crime stupidity - 05.28.2006 Scary stuff - 05.25.2006
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