Thank you for offering a non-medium portal to your delightful writing. Loved this piece. It's so incisive and spot on.
Overcorrection is a word I have held in my mind in relation to the current zeitgeist. Ultimately, I do blame the dehumanization practiced by earlier eras (toward multiple demographics) for the frustration that drives this overcorrection. I can feel the "Why aren't we there already?" baked into current-day toxic antics. I still deplore these antics as they often cause harm to people who actually mean well not to mention alienating a vast centrist demographic and emboldening the far right (ugh). But, I do understand where this wrath comes from. We've had to stuff our feelings about an array of injustice coming from prevailing societal power centers for far too long.
Too many were dehumanized in various ways for no good reason for too long. And earlier attempts to correct this imbalance were fought tooth and nail. If, at the end of the day, the outcome of this messy, fractious rage-fest is that we become free to choose our own identities and roles in society instead of having them imposed upon us by family or officialdom, then maybe it will have been worth it. We shall see.
The one thing that catalyzes hope is that purity purges don't last long since they tend not to be popular. I do yearn for the happy medium. Balance and flow are better aspirations than static perfection (which is unachievable anyway). Balance and flow allow room for side eddies and channels and new energies of disruption and innovation whilst still retaining a healthy center.
Regardless of all of it, reality will win out over anything else. You can desupport math education in the US, but then we will have to import all of our engineers. Other countries will pick up any slack in our education system. That is sad but perhaps that is the lesson that must be learned here.
We have to find a way to enable people to bloom to their potential. This is a moonshot task, particularly in the face of AI encroachment, burgeoning labor automation, existing societal power differentials, and the desire of the uberwealthy to keep people in conflict. Not to mention garden-variety o'erweening human ego - which exists in all classes. But, I still think it's worth shooting for. Lifting people up so they can become more and shine more brightly will always trump enforced sameness. Something about this kills the human spirit and it's not a truly evolved way forward. Let's hope we figure it out.
Thank you for offering a non-medium portal to your delightful writing. Loved this piece. It's so incisive and spot on.
Overcorrection is a word I have held in my mind in relation to the current zeitgeist. Ultimately, I do blame the dehumanization practiced by earlier eras (toward multiple demographics) for the frustration that drives this overcorrection. I can feel the "Why aren't we there already?" baked into current-day toxic antics. I still deplore these antics as they often cause harm to people who actually mean well not to mention alienating a vast centrist demographic and emboldening the far right (ugh). But, I do understand where this wrath comes from. We've had to stuff our feelings about an array of injustice coming from prevailing societal power centers for far too long.
Too many were dehumanized in various ways for no good reason for too long. And earlier attempts to correct this imbalance were fought tooth and nail. If, at the end of the day, the outcome of this messy, fractious rage-fest is that we become free to choose our own identities and roles in society instead of having them imposed upon us by family or officialdom, then maybe it will have been worth it. We shall see.
The one thing that catalyzes hope is that purity purges don't last long since they tend not to be popular. I do yearn for the happy medium. Balance and flow are better aspirations than static perfection (which is unachievable anyway). Balance and flow allow room for side eddies and channels and new energies of disruption and innovation whilst still retaining a healthy center.
Regardless of all of it, reality will win out over anything else. You can desupport math education in the US, but then we will have to import all of our engineers. Other countries will pick up any slack in our education system. That is sad but perhaps that is the lesson that must be learned here.
We have to find a way to enable people to bloom to their potential. This is a moonshot task, particularly in the face of AI encroachment, burgeoning labor automation, existing societal power differentials, and the desire of the uberwealthy to keep people in conflict. Not to mention garden-variety o'erweening human ego - which exists in all classes. But, I still think it's worth shooting for. Lifting people up so they can become more and shine more brightly will always trump enforced sameness. Something about this kills the human spirit and it's not a truly evolved way forward. Let's hope we figure it out.