Are You *Really* Educated?

Yes! magazine is good for a lot of reasons…

One of the latest goodies on their site is a list of twelve things a really  educated person knows…

From the site: “You won’t find ‘takes honors classes’, ‘gets good grades’, or ‘attends only Ivy League schools’ on John Taylor Gatto’s list of qualities of an educated person.”

Do check out the full article but here are those points of real education:

1: Establish an individual set of values but recognize those of the surrounding community and of the various cultures of the world.

2: Explore their own ancestry, culture, and place.

3: Are comfortable being alone, yet understand dynamics between people and form healthy relationships.

4: Accept mortality, knowing that every choice affects the generations to come.

5: Create new things and find new experiences.

6: Think for themselves; observe, analyze, and discover truth without relying on the opinions of others.

7: Favor love, curiosity, reverence, and empathy rather than material wealth.

8: Choose a vocation that contributes to the common good.

9: Enjoy a variety of new places and experiences but identify and cherish a place to call home.

10: Express their own voice with confidence.

11: Add value to every encounter and every group of which they are a part.

12: Always ask: “Who am I? Where are my limits? What are my possibilities?”

Spiritual Quote:

“Bahá’u'lláh taught the Oneness of humanity; that is to say, all the children of men are under the mercy of the Great God. They are the sons of one God; they are trained by God. He has placed the crown of humanity on the head of every one of the servants of God. Therefore all nations and peoples must consider themselves brethren. They are all descendants from Adam. They are the branches, leaves, flowers and fruits of One Tree. They are pearls from one shell. But the children of men are in need of education and civilization, and they require to be polished, till they become bright and shining.

“Man and woman both should be educated equally and equally regarded.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  in London, p. 28

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Games That Can Kill Us . . .

So many dangerously childish actions in the world political drama. For sheer silliness (which could blossom into rank trauma) the American Presidential campaign is a sad example.

From AlterNet: Top 10 Idiocies of the General Election … So Far

From the Los Angeles Times: John McCain, Barack Obama spar over ‘celebrity’

From CNN: McCain, Obama ad wars heat up

So, with all this dangerous silliness, why has the American public not used its Constitutional power to elect sane and sober leaders?

* Attachment to materialistic living and not caring too much what happens?

* Not being sufficiently educated about the issues?

* In a state of cultural shock?

Well, even if every malady of the American electorate were healed, their vote would still not guarantee that their political wishes came true. Ever heard of the Electoral College? This institution separates the popular vote from the election results. Plus, it has happened that the voice of the people was overridden by the electoral process . . .

Still, even if the people had their say, who are the people? Are they exemplary citizens, educated and compassionate?

I’m afraid I’m veering off into a rant so I’ll close this discussion {still hoping for your comments!} with today’s spiritual quotes:

“How incalculable have been the negative results of ill-directed criticism: in the catastrophic divergences it has created in religion, in the equally contentious factions it has spawned in political systems, which have dignified conflict by institutionalizing such concepts as the “loyal opposition” which attach to one or another of the various categories of political opinion —conservative, liberal, progressive, reactionary, and so forth.”
The Universal House of Justice, 1988 Dec 29, Individual Rights and Freedoms, p. 9

“The aggressiveness and competitiveness which animate a dominantly capitalist culture; the partisanship inherent in a fervidly democratic system; the suspicion of public-policy institutions and the skepticism towards established authority ingrained in the political attitude of the people and which trace their origins to the genesis of American society; the cynical disregard of the moderating principles and rules of civilized human relationships resulting from an excessive liberalism and its immoral consequences—such unsavory characteristics inform entrenched habits of American life…”
The Universal House of Justice, 1994 May 19, response to US NSA

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