Some Things Really Are Priceless

"English? English? Shit, I thought you went to school for something. English ain't nothing."

The above quote is the response I get from people 90% of the time when I tell them that I am a Ph.D. candidate in English. In addition to that quote, I work with a gang of Education professors who look upon my graduate work with condescension because, as one Education professor put it, "You never have to do any quantitative studies. You just read and write, and what you all read and write really aren't pragmatic at all." Well, I can't argue with that. Anybody who has ever tried to read Lacan or Spivak knows that the obfuscate nature of their writing is difficult enough to read, let alone apply them to real situations.

It is true that since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and other hardline conservatives painted humanities and social science professors as a bunch of ex-hippies looking to badly influence students with their Communist-inspired ideology, these majors have been on a steady decline. It seems that everyone who was anyone who went to college ran to the MBA programs. Those who really wanted to major in something that mattered took hardline sciences such as Biology, Physics, or Chemistry in order to obtain entrance into medical or nursing schools. Still others who wanted a quick, guaranteed job after college majored in elementary education. For the most part, by the time I enrolled in college in the late 1990s, people only majored in other Humanities/Liberal Arts courses to help them pass their LSATs and enter into Law School.

Thus, at this late date in the year of our Lord, most people ask me, "What in the Hell did you major in English for?" My answer is simply, "I like to read." Most people do not understand the purpose behind a humanities/liberal arts major because they cannot easily translate these majors into six-figure jobs. Most college undergraduates attend college to make money. The formula goes: 4 years of college + self-deprivation of the college life = big bucks, authority, and prestige upon matriculation. Since the 1980s, fewer and fewer jobs have been awaiting Humanities/Liberal Arts majors -even at the Ph.D. level. The degrees are equally difficult to obtain, since theories relating to human culture are never as simple as even the most difficult calculus equations. Humans just aren't that predictable. The purpose of a humanities/liberal arts education is to expose students to other cultures and other times in the human famiy through art/literature/anthropology/music/theatre/dance/philosophy/psychology/history, etc. And hopefully, along the way, we learn something about ourselves. We learn, through an engaging study of history, that it does not have to always repeat itself, and that people do not fit into neat little labels. But most of all, a degree in the humanities/liberal arts teaches us how to think about our world. LIBERAL ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES TEACHES US HOW TO THINK.

And seriously thinking about problems before we try to solve them really is priceless. If I have any criticism of American culture at large is that it is anti-intellectual. We continue to be the dumb jocks of the world -all muscle and no brain. Our current political discourse encourages all emotion and no reason. Other countries laugh at us because they can. Let me provide some prime and contemporary examples of where more liberal arts/humanities course would help our world reputation.

1. During last year's Presidential election, the Right accused Barack Obama of being a "Muslim/Islamic terrorist," and then proceeded to play clips of a very militant sermon from his long-term pastor, Jeremiah Wright. People were calling and twittering in to various political pundit shows saying how they were afraid of this "Muslim terrorist" who sat in church all of those years and listened to hatred from that antiwhite pastor. Sigh. When was the last a Muslim regularly attended your local churches? I've never known a Muslim to attend a Christian church regularly, seeing as how they have mosque sevices to fill their spiritual needs.

2. Not simple enough for you? Let's look at the healthcare debate. Why should we listen to people who use government/tax-payer funded healthcare tell us that government/tax-payer funded healthcare is bad? In case you don't know, all government workers/Congressmen use government/tax-payer funded healthcare...including Republicans. I was so embarassed for old people when they said, they don't want government-funded healthcare and the government had better not touch their Medicare. I can hear the French and Canadians laughing even in South Mississippi.

3. It's not American to pay taxes, but it is American to send soldiers to foreign countries to take natural resources. If not for taxes, who pays for wars?

4. Somehow, being gay has become a cardinal sin in America, but we're the fattest country in the world. Do I have the only Bible in the world that lists gluttony, not homosexuality, as one of the seven abominations before the Lord?

5. Celebrating Halloween is fine, but Harry Potter is witchcraft? How are the two different?

6. Wow, here's a good one. Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin tell people to watch out for liberal news bias and liberal news agendas. Those poor conservatives are always under threat, even though 91% of all talk radio is conservative talk radio and they have an entire news network devoted to their agenda. I guess the other 9% is REALLY dangerous.

These are just a few examples. I could go on and on. But hey, I'm writing to Americans, and you're tired of reading by now. Thanks for sticking around this long. Think about this, most of our greatest leaders, presidents, and thinkers were liberal arts majors. However, George Bush II had an MBA from an Ivy League school. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, studied in three liberal arts areas before attending law school: Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science. One left a surplus. The other left a deficit. THINK about it.

Disappearing White Privilege?

I must say, I hate when people relegate racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia to Mississippi. I hate it because I travel extensively. I follow the news extensively. I'm a history bug. I consider all of the above -hatred - an American problem; not one exclusive to any state or region of the country. From Watts, to Detroit, to Chicago, to Memphis to Jackson to Dallas to Washington D.C., senseless acts of violence have erupted in this country, taking the lives (or in the case of Reagan, attempting to take the lives) of some of our most promising leaders.
When historians write of these times, most of them talk about the politico-economic uncertainty that produced flames of fear and hatred. What they don't talk about is the importance of the hot air coming out of people's mouths that whipped those flames into 5-alarm fires of violence. Case in point: the Oklahoma bombing of 1995 was not a random act of violence. It was carefully planned and orchestrated. Could it also be that Mr. McVeigh, and other domestic terror groups are being given signals to use extremism and violence against opposing points of view from Conservative -often Republican -leaders?
With the passage of the health care bill, the secret service has seen an increase in terror threats against Democratic lawmakers. In Ohio, New York, and even in Washington D.C., seemingly random acts of violence and racial/sexual epithets have been hurled at lawmakers. In Pinson, Alabama, a Mr. Mike Vanderboegh is calling for like-minded patriots to break the windows of Democratic lawmakers before rifle owners have to resort to pulling guns in a new revolution. Mr. Vanderboegh is not patriotic enough, however, to turn down his government-issued social security disability checks which support his suburban lifestyle. Michelle Bachmann, giving an interview earlier this week, described herself as a "foreign correspondent on enemy lines." I saw senior Republican Party members fan the flames of angry Tea Party members by waving their flag back and forth. Meanwhile, on the floor of government, Republicans are just now proposing some sane amendments to the health care bill. Why now? We don't even know what's in the health care bill. Neither does Mr. Vanderboegh. And I'm willing to bet that most of those Tea Party members don't know, either.
So, what's the real issue here? We know that the Congressional Budget Office said that the new health care bill actually reduces the deficit, and is not guaranteed to grow the government. So, what are these people really wailing about? Most of them receive Medicare/Medicaid or some form of assistance. Those who are not already receiving this benefit, will certainly qualify for it in the future. So, I ask again, what's really going on here?
It is my belief that domestic terrorism and anger at government increase from those who stand to benefit the most from government increase is a screen for a more American problem: that of hatred. These people are terrified of losing what they feel is some sort of white privilege. In America, whiteness is a property that comes with not only a form of normalization of life and experiences, but with a certain intrinsic value protected by legal, social, and economic institutions. J. W. Cash called it the Proto-Dorian bond, and it is to be guarded and watered by the "blood of tyrants" who dare take it away. One of the cornerstones of white privilege is that it is exclusive. In order to enjoy this white privilege, one needs first and foremost, white skin. I think that may be all, because certainly the throngs of poor white people gathered in Washington D.C. and who live and benefit from government intervention, have nothing to gain under Republican rulership, which leans toward big business. According to W. J. Cash, the Proto-Dorian bond is a feeling of unity and support that unites whites across all class lines in a common culture of white supremacy. So, it was no slip of the tongue when Pat Buchanan, when being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, claims that white men alone built this country and its theirs.
All of this violence, protesting, screaming, and yelling is not about Big Government. It's not about health care. It's not about the deficit. If you ask me, these are just code words in a common culture of white supremacy. White supremacists feel like they are under attack, and may very well lose the white privilege they've enjoyed for more than three centuries in the United States of America. They are angry at the white people who voted for Barack Obama. They are angry at the white lawmakers who would betray them by guaranteeing immigrants and minorities a share of that seemingly shrinking American Pie. Most of all, they are afraid, and their leaders are stoking that fear every day. People like John Boehner, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, John McCain...good white American people who stand up to this "socialist/communist takeover" are their last hopes. In true American fashion, they react the only way they know how: with hateful words and equally violent actions that follow. If this violence results in tragedy, I think the people who are fanning the flames should also be held accountable, not just the participants of the protests and acts.