I figured out the root of all the world's problems today. Well, some of them, anyway.
When it's impossible to create some virtue in another human being, people will attempt to enforce the semblance of such virtue.
Take education. The ostensible motive for education is for students to learn. We learn best when we are motivated, but giving a student the will to learn or an interest in a subject is incredibly hard. If a student decides the lesson is irrelevant, doesn't respect the teacher, wants to be somewhere else, There is not much that can be done.
What are the tendencies of a student who wants to learn? They don't skip class. They listen attentively and take notes. They act respectfully toward their teacher. They do homework. Aren't these the kind of issues teachers struggle to correct every day? In the absence of eager students, educators try to create the image of such. They have a delusional belief that this type of environment leads to learning, when it is the other way around. In short, they are going about it backwards.
Good students also do well on tests. Standardized testing is a slightly better measure of learning, simply because it's hard to fake your way through. However, If we grade schools on test scores, we are repeating the same mistake. It makes so much common sense; good test scores indicate good education, so let's get test scores up. It's like treating the symptoms to cure the disease.
How about respect? So many people define respect in terms of acting in a respectful manner. They want to be treated "with respect" but what they really want is the appearance of respect. Real respect is esteem. Try as you might, you cannot coerce someone into thinking highly of you. So people in positions of power who do not command respect will demand deferential treatment from their subordinates. This can only breed resentment. To earn my respect, give me something worth respecting.
Or morality? I'm a moral person. I know what is right and wrong and I try to do what is right. I know a moral person when I see one. They do good things, too. Now, if we could only get those
bad people to start acting right. Then they'd be moral! Maybe they'll resist at first, but as soon as we wipe out those nasty habits they'll be good people again.
It must bother people when so much is beyond their control, that they start exercising control wherever they can. They become confused as to their true purpose, chasing the illusion of what they want. I think I'm depressing myself. Still, it feels good just knowing what's wrong. I was going to conclude by suggesting how to remedy the problem I just described, but maybe I'll leave it up to you to figure it out, mm?
