Triumph of the extroverts

Posted by on

“Does anyone live a life of quiet despair these days? The question struck me with some force, one Sunday evening last summer, when I found myself on the Leatherhead bypass. These proud detached villas, still with their net curtains and tidy front gardens, were exactly the sort of houses where people sighed in Betjeman’s poems over missing the fun. Brief Encounter territory. But our modern world is one of clamour and din. Everyone is busy shouting into their mobile phones, or chanting the name of Jeremy Corbyn, or sobbing on telly because their cake didn’t rise. Extroverts have taken over. Quiet despair has been all but forgotten, like headscarves or sardine-and-tomato paste.” (Cressida Connolly in The Oldie)

As an introvert myself I too crave quiet and stillness, time to contemplate, to think. Some people simply cannot tolerate silence. They have to chatter on, endlessly putting you “right” about this, that and the other. You go out for a romantic dinner with your wife and you can barely hear your own voice, so great is the din (apparently this noise is what young people want). You are deluged with political ads and requests for your feedback on the toothbrush, or whatever, you purchased last week or how an employee had handled a problem thst should never have been a problem in the first place. You feel like an island among this noisy humanity that craves your attention and seems to feel that life is not worth living without constant, opinionated chatter. I think modern Epicureans should set an example by conducting give-and-take, quiet conversations where people listen to one another, ask questions and make thoughtful comments; not pursue lengthy noisy monologues. Genuine interest in others is the key.

British grammar schools vs. technical and vocational education.

Posted by on

Yet again, the British political class is arguing about grammar schools. This row will “never be resolved, because it’s about competing values: the Right prizes opportunity above equality, and the Left vice versa”. But this is the wrong argument to be having in any case. The real problem with our education system is not too much or too little selection; it’s our failure to offer proper vocational training.

We’ve never invested in the technical schools that were promised back in the Butler Education Act of 1944, and which other northern European countries take for granted. This “failure to teach people how to make anything” is behind many of our society’s current problems. A consequent shortage of local skills has made us increasingly reliant on automation, and imported goods and labour, which, in turn, has contributed to depressed wages, the growth of regional inequalities and an alarming £32bn balance of payments deficit. Forget the argument about selection. The best thing we can do now to put our school system, and country, on a better path is to champion the cause of vocational education. Emma Duncan (The Week).

I heartily agree. I have great respect for technically trained Poles. The Polish man I know best can turn his hand to almost anything: plumbing, of course, electrics, woodworking, bricklaying, you name it. He knows the pros and cons of every approach to a problem, quietly gets on with a job, and does so with a smile and at a reasonable cost. He is a typical product of the technical schools of Poland, which teach everything tnoroughly, including client management. As far as I know he makes a good living and doexn’t have to advertise. We have quite enough university academics, but not enough qualified Americans or British people able to teach these and similar skills, even if we had the technical schools available. We lost the plot.

Bertrand Russell on getting old

Posted by on

“Psychologically there are two dangers to be guarded against in old age. One of these is absorption in the past. It does not do to live in memories, in regret for the good old days, or sadness about friends who are dead. One’s thoughts must be directed to the future, and to things about which there is something to be done”. (Bertrand Russell, “How to Grow Old”, 1975)

Another side of the story

Posted by on

To The Observer
“Spit-soaked feathers lay all over the breakfast table as I and many others of my age group were accused by Phillip Inman of being in pursuit of “the holy grail of wealth”.
In addition, we are held responsible for “wanting to keep saving even as [we] move into [our] 80s and 90s”. How dare we? Such irresponsible behaviour! We must be ashamed of ourselves. Or are we?

“I am not. It has taken me a lifetime of hard work to accumulate sufficient funds not to have to screw up courage to open my bank statement; I now take a taxi when I wish; I can have the lobster lunch; I can buy a new hat.

“I grew up in the Rhondda Valley just after the War and benefited from the Marshall Plan, Mr Beveridge’s report and Rab Butler’s Education Act. For me, there were no bicycles, no holidays, no telephone, no car and, almost until I was on my way to grammar school, many goods were unavailable or still rationed. There was a first-class public library within reach. I persuaded my parents to join so I could use their library cards as well as my own. I read everything.

“All those old-fashioned values of thrift, no waste, make do and mend, do not borrow or, worse, owe money are still very much part of my way of life. If we had not saved when we could do so, there would be fewer sources today for the younger generation to borrow from. Inman mentions that “older savers resist spending some of their pension” – that is because we lived through hard times. Now we do not know what is ahead of us, thank goodness we were prudent.” (Pearl McCabe, Cardiff, quoted in The Week, April 20,2018)

What young people leave out of the equation is the fact that the expensive houses occupied by the elderly will be the property of the now-young in due course, or sooner. In my case I was in my fifties when my parents died, and the grumblies will likewise be in their fifties (or so) when they inherit, exceptions notwithstanding. That’s not to say that the young have no valid gripes, inflicted upon them by their elders. But the passing of the elders is inevitable and rites of passage still continue. Inheritance still comes at a similar age for most.

Barbarism at the border

Posted by on

“At a Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, TX, I witnessed something that is now seared into my mind: A large warehouse facility with cells constructed of fence posts and chain link fencing—like dog kennels or large cages.

“But the style of construction isn’t the issue. What is the issue is that in that facility U.S. agents are tasked with taking the children out of their parents’ arms and putting them into cells with other children — with neither the children nor the parents knowing if they will ever see each other again.

“Imagine a family that is persecuted abroad for its religion or political engagement, or a family targeted by a vicious drug gang. The family escapes to the United States, surviving harrowing experiences en route. Finally, they arrive to the shores of the United States, knowing that the U.S. has time and again treated families fleeing persecution with respect because so many Americans have a parent, grandparent, or ancestor that arrived to the U.S. fleeing persecution.

“But instead, the Border Patrol — under a new plan concocted by Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump, and John Kelly — arrest the asylum seekers as criminals and proceed to take the screaming children from the arms of their protesting parents.

“Let me state the obvious: This is wrong. Terribly wrong. Ripping the children away from their parents induces enormous anxiety for the parents. Where are their children going? Will they ever see them again? Who will care for them?

“But even worse, this inflicts enormous trauma on the children. In a strange new land with a new language, the only security the children have is to be with their parents. Experts tell us (not that we need experts to tell us) that this is causing huge emotional trauma.

“Harming children for any reason, including for the purpose of discouraging persecuted families from seeking asylum, is evil.” (U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, writing today)

Having been a (legal) immigrant myself (and that was frustrating enough) I don’t support illegal immigration, but treating families like this is cruel. No doubt it is designed to send a sharp signal to others trying to sneak into the United States. But you don’t behave like this, taking it out of helpless little children. It is not just un-Epicurean, it is barbaric. And it is being carried out by self- described Christians!”