"Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them...."
John Adams and colleagues, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ratified in June 1780.
"I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness."
Thomas Jefferson (in 1780s) quoted in Meacham's Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, p. 469.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Thomas Jefferson
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own governours must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
James Madison (1832) in Gaillard Hunt's The Writings of James Madison, ed., 9:103.
"A nation's present
well-being and future destiny are no longer constrained only by its 'givens' (its geography, its population, its natural resources).
Knowledge has become the prime mover; science and technology represent
the new driving force. Economic prosperity, energy supplies,
manufacturing capacity, personal health, public safety, military
security, and environmental quality --all these and more will depend on
knowledge."
Frank Rhodes, Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2001), 229.
"Knowledge
is our most important business. The success of almost all our other
business depends on it, but its value is not only economic. The
pursuit, production, dissemination, application, and preservation of
knowledge are the central activities of a civilization."
"Knowledge
is a form of capital that is always unevenly distributed, and people
who have more knowledge, or greater access to knowledge, enjoy
advantages over people who have less."
Louis Menand, The Market Place of Ideas: reform and Resistance in the American University. (New York, NY: Norton, 2010), 13.
Source:
Michael M. Crow & William B. Dabars. Designing the New American University (Baltimore, MD: Joghs Hopkins University Press, 2015). ISBN 978-1-4214-1723-3
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Anandwan and Equality
Anandwan* today cares for more than two thousand leprosy victims and more than a hundred of their children, another several hundred blind or deaf-mute children, plus orphans and those born to unwed mothers.
"When I visited there," the Dalai Lama said, "everyone was full of self-respect and dignity, everyone equal. They all had jobs, a livelihood. When they became old and retired, they were still looked after. They were handicapped but full of spirit. I was really very much impressed."
Baba Amte** put it bluntly: "Charity destroys; work builds."
The residents of Anandwan support themselves by making products ranging from carpets, school notebooks, and greeting cards from recycled paper, to metal bed frames, crutches, and special protective footwear for those with leprosy.
Though Baba Amte passed away in 2008, his two sons, both physicians, carry on his work. At last report, Anandwan --and two sister communities-- employed over five thousand residents. (p. 122)
"Their mental attitude makes a big difference," the Dalai Lama recalls from his visit to Anandwan. "Their work gives them self-confidence and self-respect, so they are full of enthusiasm."
When it comes to helping those in need, the Dalai Lama --like Baba Amte--emphasizes people helping themselves. Here attitude is crucial. "Sometimes poor people feel they cannot do much to help themselves."
...it's the root causes of their difficulties that need to change. They have the same potential as anyone else. But they need to believe in their own ability and to make an effort. Then, given the same opportunities, they can be equal.
....some hard-liner Chinese Communist officials had spread propaganda saying that the Tibetan brain was "inferior," and...some Tibetans had adopted that self-defeating view of themselves. But when given the same schooling and chances in life, Tibetans did as well as anyone else --and that convinced many Tibetans that they were not inferior after all.
[The Dalai Lama] had used this example with a post-apartheid resident of a shanty town in Soweto, whose home he was visiting. The man told him that African brains were inferior and so Africans could not be as intelligent as whites.
The Dalai Lama was shocked and saddened by this. "I argued that this is totally wrong. If you ask scientists if there are any brain differences due to color, they would definitely say no. The real point is equality. Now that you have the opportunity, you must work hard. You can be equal in every way."
The Dalai Lama argued energetically to convince the man that Africa had great potential and that long colonial rule had created a lack of self-confidence in Africans, which could be overcome --as with the Tibetans--with social equality, opportunity, and education.
After a lot of argument, the man sighed and in a low voice said, "Now I'm convinced: We're the same. I believe we are equal." (p.123)
Sources:
*Anandwan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandwan
**BabaAmte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Amte
Daniel Goleman. Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2015)
"When I visited there," the Dalai Lama said, "everyone was full of self-respect and dignity, everyone equal. They all had jobs, a livelihood. When they became old and retired, they were still looked after. They were handicapped but full of spirit. I was really very much impressed."
Baba Amte** put it bluntly: "Charity destroys; work builds."
The residents of Anandwan support themselves by making products ranging from carpets, school notebooks, and greeting cards from recycled paper, to metal bed frames, crutches, and special protective footwear for those with leprosy.
Though Baba Amte passed away in 2008, his two sons, both physicians, carry on his work. At last report, Anandwan --and two sister communities-- employed over five thousand residents. (p. 122)
"Their mental attitude makes a big difference," the Dalai Lama recalls from his visit to Anandwan. "Their work gives them self-confidence and self-respect, so they are full of enthusiasm."
When it comes to helping those in need, the Dalai Lama --like Baba Amte--emphasizes people helping themselves. Here attitude is crucial. "Sometimes poor people feel they cannot do much to help themselves."
...it's the root causes of their difficulties that need to change. They have the same potential as anyone else. But they need to believe in their own ability and to make an effort. Then, given the same opportunities, they can be equal.
....some hard-liner Chinese Communist officials had spread propaganda saying that the Tibetan brain was "inferior," and...some Tibetans had adopted that self-defeating view of themselves. But when given the same schooling and chances in life, Tibetans did as well as anyone else --and that convinced many Tibetans that they were not inferior after all.
[The Dalai Lama] had used this example with a post-apartheid resident of a shanty town in Soweto, whose home he was visiting. The man told him that African brains were inferior and so Africans could not be as intelligent as whites.
The Dalai Lama was shocked and saddened by this. "I argued that this is totally wrong. If you ask scientists if there are any brain differences due to color, they would definitely say no. The real point is equality. Now that you have the opportunity, you must work hard. You can be equal in every way."
The Dalai Lama argued energetically to convince the man that Africa had great potential and that long colonial rule had created a lack of self-confidence in Africans, which could be overcome --as with the Tibetans--with social equality, opportunity, and education.
After a lot of argument, the man sighed and in a low voice said, "Now I'm convinced: We're the same. I believe we are equal." (p.123)
Sources:
*Anandwan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandwan
**BabaAmte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Amte
Daniel Goleman. Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2015)
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Go Set a Watchman
"Every man's island, Jean Louise, every man's watchman is his conscience."
Harper Lee
Harper Lee
"Go Set a Watchman captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusion of the past --a journey that can only be guided by one's own conscience."
HarperCollins Publishers (New York, 2015)
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Compassion
...a deeper awareness of how our emotional world affects the people around us leads to a more compassionate outlook.
Then "you have the conviction," the Dalai Lama says, "that that's what I need for me, for my well-being."
As he often says,"the moment you think of others, your mind widens."
(p. 46)
"If we lack basic conviction in the value of compassion, then the effect of religion will be quite limited." The Dalai Lama
(p. 48)
Genuine happiness and compassion go hand in hand. (p. 49)
Compassion in action, he says, means not just relieving suffering but also getting engaged in rectifying wrongs, opposing injustice or protecting people's rights, for instance. ...such compassion , though non-violence, can still be quite assertive. (p. 86)
Three principles that exemplify such compassion in action:
1. fairness (with everyone treated the same)
2. transparency (honest and open)
3. accountability (answerable for misdeeds)
(p. 84)
Source:
Daniel Goleman. A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. (New York, NY: The Bantam Books, 2015). ISBN 978-0-553-39489-4.
Then "you have the conviction," the Dalai Lama says, "that that's what I need for me, for my well-being."
As he often says,"the moment you think of others, your mind widens."
(p. 46)
"If we lack basic conviction in the value of compassion, then the effect of religion will be quite limited." The Dalai Lama
(p. 48)
Genuine happiness and compassion go hand in hand. (p. 49)
Compassion in action, he says, means not just relieving suffering but also getting engaged in rectifying wrongs, opposing injustice or protecting people's rights, for instance. ...such compassion , though non-violence, can still be quite assertive. (p. 86)
Three principles that exemplify such compassion in action:
1. fairness (with everyone treated the same)
2. transparency (honest and open)
3. accountability (answerable for misdeeds)
(p. 84)
Source:
Daniel Goleman. A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. (New York, NY: The Bantam Books, 2015). ISBN 978-0-553-39489-4.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Lessons from the Past
The greatest way to avenge
your enemy is by learning to forgive.
I hope I am able to give my children a better world than I
received by telling the story of the lessons we have learned.
August 1945 Atomic Bomb Survivor from Japan
Sources:
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