The fight’s out there in the harbor, people–not here in our own barracks.
Which is more important to a civilization–technical know-how, or the liberal arts? (We will set aside the question of which side indulges in the most snobbery.)
Obviously if the technology is allowed to go down the drain, your civilization suffers. It might even go extinct. We see all sorts of bad decisions made by people who don’t understand how things work. Something brings to mind the old joke about if the pilot don’t show up to fly the plane, none of the hoity-toity passengers is going anywhere. They won’t even get off the ground.
But then what kind of civilization do we have if the liberal arts are allowed to drift into the blahsmos? And there’s only sitcoms left? How much Shakespeare do you have to quote before your car’s battery revives itself? Will your owner’s manual replace the Bible?
I grew up in a neighborhood where a lot of my friends went on to vocational school. (I called it “vo-tech” because that’s what they called it: no disrespect intended.) My friend who became a plumber earned more money than I could ever dream of getting. Because people need plumbers!
But I say we also need philosophers, poets, humorists, story-tellers–oh, my, yes! Story-tellers we need!–historians, theologians, theoretical scientists… just to name a few. There’s a good chance that not a single one of those listed above could fix his air conditioner if it went on the fritz.
That’s why a civilization usually has a division of labor.
Well, we made a big mistake, years ago, when we decided just about everybody has to go to college. It was never meant for that. My plumber friend got along just fine without it. I am glad I went; but there were at the time more than a few voices in my family raised against it as a waste of time and money. In some ways they were right. But I wouldn’t be me, and I probably wouldn’t be doing this right now, if I hadn’t gone.
We need mutual respect, and not just because it’s right. Out there are armies of Far Left Crazies who wish to destroy our civilization and make themselves our masters.
The liberal arts and the humanities tell us what we are defending, and why.
The technical know-how gives us the means to defend ourselves.
We need both.
