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Brian Villanueva's avatar

I believe the second Adams quote is actually from a different Adams. The colonial American history scholar John Truslow Adams wrote those words in an essay called "To Be or To Do" just before the start of the Great Depression. (https://www.gazettenet.com/Archives/2014/01/column-zinan0107-hg ) It also doesn't sound like John Adams. In his day, being "educated" = "how to live" (and also reading Latin and Greek) by definition. Job skills were apprenticeship and didn't count as "education". This distinction came from the classical philosophers. Aristotle would agree completely about the importance of "learning how to live"; although he would also reject job training as "education", since Aristotle was a snob who looked down on anyone who worked for a living. (There's a reason he sat in his chair thinking about falling objects instead of climbing a building and dropping some.)

What's tragically farcical is that today's ruling class rejects that there is a "right way to live" at all, that virtue exists, or that tradition has value beyond buttressing your own sense of moral superiority over your ancestors. They don't really believe this -- they still get married, have children, work hard, educate their kids -- though they use their high pulpits to preach the perpetual NOW to the masses. It's a world where everyone is free to choose everything, and the revolution never ends. On my optimistic days, I chalk this up to a belief in absolute freedom and personal responsibility for all; on my more cynical days, it's just a cruel way for the ruling class to reinforce its own power by making the demos atomized and untrusting, and therefore easier to squash.

Good affirmative action ideas BTW. I'm a Burkean conservative and even I could get behind such a proposal.

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Ben Slivka's avatar

A very thoughtful and sophisticated analysis and recipe. However, Coleman Hughes makes a strong case for avoiding race in our laws and institutions in his new book. See https://benslivka.com/2024/02/25/the-end-of-race-politics-arguments-for-a-colorblind-america/

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