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| Rush Limbaugh |
In my rather short experience regarding talk radio, be it conservative or liberal, I have detected an overarching trend that all talk shows on the radio dial exhibit, It is not that these shows all spew lies and deceit for the entirety of their running time. Few of them do that. On the contrary, many of these shows utilize the same news stories, talk about the same subjects, cite the same facts and figures, and generally agree on the facts of the latest headlines. However, it is here that the truth in many respects ends. Listeners are not listening to talk radio to hear the facts; they are listenng to hear the host's interpretation of the facts.
How trustworthy are these interpretations? It depends. The modern political talk show world is plagued with agendas, left and right. Glenn Beck would have you believe that the world will end with Barack Obama's second term and that George Soros controls everything on the left. Neal Boortz would have you believe that killing a child is a womn's personal decision and a right to be protected. And finally, the "doctor of democracy," the god of the radio talk show universe Rush Limbaugh, would have you believe that any education that does not directly tie into "job training" of one sort or another is a monumentally idiotic waste of time and money.
The other hosts' contentions put aside, Rush Limbaugh's assertion regarding education, particularly the liberal arts, strikes a powerfully sour note with me. If you will recall, in my Thanksgiving post I gave thanks for a fantastic liberal arts education that has gotten me several of the jobs that I have held in my lifetime. I hold a B.A. in English Literature and it was worth every penny. But I would rather give Martin Cothran the intellectual floor here and point you all to an excellent article he wrote published to Memoria Press's web site. He does a fantastic job of disassembling Limbaugh's senseless rant against a liberal arts education. It is worth the read.
Ultimately it comes down to what is most important: earning money or growing in humanity. Since I consider money useful only as a tool to enable growing in humanity, my answer to that is obvious.
ReplyDeletePlease note that you have earned an income with your liberal arts education. Rush is likely referring to what I also consider many wastes of education, time, money and gov't funded loans. When I graduated high school in 1980, the pressure to GET a college degree was the strongest in history. It was a MUST. 99% of my class went on to college. Most dropped out. At our 5 year class reunion, of those who actually graduated college, only FIVE were working in the field in which they earned their degrees. Most were working in jobs that required nothing other than a HS diploma. Rush is NOT talking about YOU. Nor is he talking about anyone, especially young ladies who wish to be well rounded for their future role as mothers, to gain a general education. I have always believed that his take is disputing the social philosophy that everyone should focus on "going to college" with less regard to occupational calling that is held within each person.
ReplyDeleteI must disagree. The section of the transcript that Martin Cothran quotes specifically has Rush blasting a classical education for being... a classical education. He should not criticize what he knows so little about.
ReplyDeleteNow, I agree with you and him that education is too expensive and people are overly encouraged to go to college. However, that was a separate part of his argument. His attitude to anything other than vocational school is borderline utilitarian. He seems to equate production of wealth with human flourishing.