CONFUSED?
I should think that, by this time, everyone must have heard what frontiersmen Daniel Boone is supposed to have replied when someone asked him if he had ever been lost in the woods.
He denied it, of course, but confessed that there had been times for “several days at a time” when he had been “a mite confused.”
Y Young people today respond to that incident, I find. They like his sense of humor and admire his obvious ability to talk his way around a thing to make it appear to have been something entirely different. It is too bad they do not know who he was and what he did in our nation's early history.
Oh, yes, they will know the name, however, based on a fund of knowledge it will all appear to be romantic and sketchy. The source of their learning our history is based almost entirely on versions set forth by Golden's Books, Walt Disney productions, and kinetic constrictions which make up the work of the thousand-and- three creators and copiers of vaguely related drawings, re- creations and photographers. That is not an exaggerator's . If you check around a bit, even among some the people with whom you grew up, you will find it true in many cases that they haven't read a book for years. Some ,however, sincerely believe they have read specific books and know about our nation's great men and women. Or the most part , cal; to often. It becomes evident that their background came from watching tabloid treatments of the story in films, comic books and other such tabloid treatments of the story on film, in garishly colored “comics” and in other production areas. Seeing the film and TV versions, or, at best, reading the quick-time, condensed books version, which may give a withered view of the subject.
It gets a bit scary when you realize that the same young people and grown ups so nourished in the culture and affairs of our nation, are gong to be voting for future leaders of our nation this fall.. Those whose knowledge is questionable in both quantity and quality; people who don't
know Daniel Boone from Icabod Crane are going to decide who head our nation.. Most of them would seek and easy way out if asked about their voting presences. Few will admit having been a “mite confused” at any point when making their decision.
We need to re-tool our quest for knowledge to include the classic literature, history and human conduct. A well-known educator - Robert J. Hutchins – who was pushing the “100 Best Books” project at the time many years ago, said:
To destroy the Western tradition of independent thought it is not necessary to burn the books. All we need do is to leave them unread for a couple of generations.”
What time is it now?
A.L.M. March 20, 2004 [c489wds]
