On a side note, shouldn't this discussion be on the
bootstrap site, rather than at Yak? I'm darned if I
recall what the "yak" list was for, as distinguished
from "yak-tools", but in my mind yak has been focused
more on tools, technologies, and results, than on the
big social issues. (01)
Eric Armstrong wrote: (02)
> Well, for what it's worth, you have my support in that
> endeavor. Corporate capitalism is more concerned with
> fleecing the flock than shepparding it, and now NAFTA
> has ensured that things that will get much worse before
> they get better.
>
> Mega-corporations need to be pummeled in the legislature
> and in the courtrooms, and the next generation of leaders
> needs to be educated into understanding Platonic ideals,
> before they destroy the planet.
>
> The head of the list:
> Enron
> Exxon (Remember the Valdez!)
> Dot Com (et al)
> R.J. Reynolds
> <something> "Foods"
>
>
> Henry K van Eyken wrote:
>
>> Eric.
>>
>> "Practical political science" - a good phrase. Actually this used to be
>> a subject taught in Dutch High Schools many long years ago
>> ("Staathuishoudkunde" to trigger a mental reaction in any Dutch
>> readers). But I definitely mean to see included family affairs and
>> raising children. It used to be said that in Holland you required an
>> official licence for raising pigs ...
>>
>> The matter of virtue has come to my mind from the WWII experience and
>> the behavior of people toward one another under conditions where fear is
>> a big factor. Nevertheless, it might not have been a bad idea for civic/
>> civil behavior in more prosperous times. Consider the apparent absence
>> of the phrase "noblesse oblige" from the mental dictionary of community
>> leaders such as CEOs and CFOs.
>>
>> Three years ago, I tried to gain support for a small conference
>> involving also education in virtues. I thought I had the support of an
>> important educator here who herself specialized in values education. But
>> as it turned out, not so. The old Spartans were way ahead of us although
>> I wouldn't want to diet on vinegar-and-blood soup.
>>
>> Henry
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 2003-07-08 at 16:34, Eric Armstrong wrote:
>>
>>> Henry K van Eyken wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I strongly believe that civics and virtues ought be very much a part of
>>>> the curriculum, from K through college. And increasingly so in a world
>>>> connected by information while at the same time so much disconnected by
>>>> ideologies.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Hear hear. (Here here? I never really understood that phrase.)
>>>
>>> Especially the part about "virtues". I've never really seen instruction
>>> in "civics and virtues", so I'm guessing that means pretty much the
>>> same as "ethics and practical political science".
>>>
>>> As I look at the harm wrought by tobacco companies and food
>>> manufacturers, much less MS, the need for inculcating public-mindedness
>>> from an early age is all too apparent.
>
>
> (03)
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