Heh Heh

One of my favorite bumper stickers read, "No Blood for Oil." It was during the early days of the Iraq War and was pasted on the bumper of a huge SUV doing more than 80 mph down the freeway! I saw something that rivaled that in Las Vegas last weekend. Some guy, laden down with what looked like ample drink, was wearing a button that read, "99%." Yep, exactly!

Who'd have ever thought a liberal arts education would have to be defended? I guess I should have seen it coming. "Going to college" is now primarily a means to get a job. Those with degrees in English and Philosophy and other liberal arts subjects are considered mostly unemployable. In the high schools, History isn't important. So, here we are, with the governor of Fla wanting to spend state dollars on higher education for more science and high-tech studies, not "[to] educate more people who can't get jobs in anthropology." And, he's not the only one. Check out your nearest campuses and see where the money goes--new buildings and facilities for business, science, and technology. Note all the computers going into your local schools. I have nothing against these disciplines. I do have difficulty accepting that education's primary purpose is to "get a job" for a graduate. And where has all this de-emphasis on liberal arts got us? We have doctors who are brilliant, but can't sympathize or communicate with patients. Imagine a liberal arts major designing airplane seats, ones in which a person can actually comfortably sit. And what engineers plan a grocery store parking lot (with shopping carts that roll!) on a hill? Perhaps we need more anaestheologists who were Fine Arts majors, banking executives who were English majors, and real estate managers who were Psychology majors? (I picked those because I graduated with some of them.) Maybe there would be just a little more consideration for all of us....