Comments on: The Age of Paradox (Guest Blogger Bill Farren, no. 4)

By: Bill Farren

Bill Farren — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:58:23 +0000

@Clay @Charlie: Clay, you said it better than I did right here:
Like so many other branches of science (including the new, data-driven “happiness studies” featured in the video Bill embedded), this one posits an understanding of values and ethics rationally derived and cross-cultural, and thus breeding unity across the great religious tribes, rather than further consolidating them.
If you look at the major religions, most, if not all (I’m not a theologian by any means) seem to point to what the science of happiness and well-being seem to be finding: moderation, limits, purpose, charity, involvement… are good for us. The religion of consumerism, by far the most powerfully adhered to ever, points in the opposite direction: no limits, greed, competition, individualism, shallowness… The fact that science and religion often seem to be in agreement here, I think shows the value of science and religion while also unifying and harmonizing.
I also think that if we discuss values framed as practical self-interest, then we can avoid the traps, especially in secular places, that shut down the conversation and keep the consumer juggernaut safely on track.
@Danielle: I would say as parents, one thing you can do is ask, then demand, that your school teach media literacy so that kids (at any age) can have a different way of looking at marketing. As it is now, they don’t have a chance. My experience shows that few people in schools are thinking to any degree worth noting, about how they can set up a curricula that helps children defend themselves against the noxious messages they continually encounter. I think it would also be very helpful if parents started to demand that schools realign the curriculum to be on the side of kids not corporations. In the meantime, I highly recommend Juliet Schor’s book if you haven’t already read it. I think most parents would be aghast at what marketers are doing to their children in the name of profits. Most seem to think it’s harmless and cute. The science and the statistics shows otherwise.

Bill Farren’s last blog post..Winner Takes Pizza

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:32:17 +0000

I found this post to be an articulation of the thoughts and feelings i have been having for quite a while.
especially agree with what Juliet Schor says in her book.
this is incredibly sad.
the question is - what can really be done about it by us - moms and dads?

By: Danielle

Danielle — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:16:21 +0000

The issue is a complex one partly as there is no real agreement on the important values in society. the desire for wellbeing as I see it is not of a moral nature in it self. The agreement that the most important thing is to pursue the general wellbeing is a different thing all together. As I see it the only thing that is agreed upon is not to disturb each other in their attempt to achieve wellbeing and this is not enough as the differences between people and belief systems are on the things that are more important then wellbeing when other things are equal.

By: Clay Burell

Clay Burell — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:31:00 +0000

@Charlie - and I always enjoy your comments. But really, that teacher _should_ be fired!

By: Charlie A. Roy

Charlie A. Roy — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:58:06 +0000

@ Clay
I see your point. I personally would find it hard to teach in a public school. This difficulty doesn’t come from a lack of appreciation for the differences in religious affiliation but for the fact that how can one really discuss history, philosophy, or art while pretending that religion has nothing to do with any of it.

As human beings we are religious creatures be it the cult of consumerism, Catholicism, Hinduism and on and on our lives are animated and directed by the principles we adhere too. Everyone could benefit from thicker skin and a sense of humor especially some of the sensitive families we work with.

Sorry to hear that you had such a wonderful run in with the above mentioned parent. I listen to parents every week demand the firing of someone for something. My favorite was this past fall when a parent actually demanded the firing of a teacher for not making her daughter’s yearbook picture big enough. She was serious. I’m writing all this stuff down so I can author a book one day.

I always enjoy your posts.

Charlie A. Roy’s last blog post..A Jott in Line and Saving Time

By: Clay Burell

Clay Burell — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:43:53 +0000

@Charlie, Funny I was holding a copy of The Moral Animal: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology in my hands when I read your comment. Like so many other branches of science (including the new, data-driven “happiness studies” featured in the video Bill embedded), this one posits an understanding of values and ethics rationally derived and cross-cultural, and thus breeding unity across the great religious tribes, rather than further consolidating them.

This is delicate, but I have to say that the odds are at least as strong that a secularist who opened the validity of religious beliefs up to critical thinking in the classroom would be targeted by a “radical religious dogmatist.”

I know this from experience, in fact. A parent tried to have me fired for including Bishop John Shelby Spong’s “Call for a New Reformation” in the classroom, as a modern example of the effects Martin Luther had on his contemporaries.

We both agree, though, that the Gospel of Consumerism - by far the most dominant religion in the world today, regardless of our Sabbath habits - is not the one that leads to happiness.

By: Charlie A. Roy

Charlie A. Roy — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:15:29 +0000

@ Bill
You can’t have happiness and contentment without self reflection and a purpose. The pursuit of wealth is a never ending quest that can never satisfy. As a former options trader turned teacher I had to learn the hard way that having all the money I wanted didn’t do much to make me happy. I hated who I was becoming and wanted something else.

How you teach this with out an appeal to religion is difficult. I do think the liberal arts model of pushing students to think critically about values is part of the story but I imagine in most public schools at least in the states their would be a fear of being sued by some radical secular activist.

Personally I feel Catholic education offers the ability to debate freely these issues within a setting that tolerates the push for truth and meaning. If what we believe is true then the fear of dialogue on the issue is irrelevant.

Charlie A. Roy’s last blog post..A Jott in Line and Saving Time