We are living in strange times, my friend. I grew up in a house full of books, where imagination and asking a million questions were encouraged. Ask a meaningful question, or better - stump Dad - and earn yourself some respect and praise. Money couldn't buy a better high. When I look around at this dystopian hellscape, I am filled with heartbreak and rage. It's not just the politics. The politics are a byproduct of defunct social consciousness and prideful ignorance. People are so proud to not know things. They giggle and chuckle when asked important questions, not because they're embarrassed but because they have been duped into believing that knowledge and critical thinking are beneath them. Those are useless endeavors because they for some bizarre reason find it honorable to get bent for the ruling class and don't care to consider why. I see it in business every day. People can't use basic deductive reasoning to help me help them. They can't form coherent sentences when asking questions - whether in writing or on the phone. And I have to play mom/preschool teacher trying to decipher what the infantile knucklehead is trying to ask me. I see this is in my personal life too. Friends that don't want to read. They don't want to learn how to do things or how things work. They just want to regurgitate whatever horse shit their aunt's friend's neighbor said and let that form how they see the world. We have entered the Dark Ages Part Deux.
Higher education has always been an elitist system. I get the animosity about that. But now Christian universities are drawing interest like never before. These schools place religion over education and the subjugation of women over gender equality. Institutions predicated on Christian Nationalism do not foster education. They are training soldiers for the Lord to fall in line and breed children who will do the same. I spent time with a young woman who feels so empowered in her duties as a mother and a wife who lives to appease and accommodate her husband. What happens when those kids are grown and appeasing a man's wants and needs at your own expense year after year gets old? What will empower her then? Not much. And that's the point. Convince her that her efforts are noble and she'll shackle herself.
