Opus 2014-265: Vanishing Cultural Skills

The dumbing down of America takes a lot of hidden steps.

Skills that were once so common we didn’t think about it are disappearing.  Some are just possible cultural changes and are a part of progress.  Others are signs of deterioration and a weaker culture.

One that came up recently in class is the ability to read and write cursive.  I had put something on the screen and used a script-like font.  I wanted the effect of looking hand written.  I succeeded better than I expected.  Many of the students could not read it because it was too close to cursive.  Is this the end of the world?  Probably not.

Other skills are quietly going away.  Many people cannot read analog time.  If it isn’t digital it is just a strange decoration.  Did you ever learn touch typing?  It is no longer necessary in this day of the mouse and function keys.  Most people hunt and peck.  More cut and paste.  Some software makes it possible to just talk to the screen.

Do these changes signal the end of the world?  Probably not.

Other skills are more vital.  You have heard the concerns about reading.  You might be confused because everyone seems to be able to read.  The problem is in comprehension, not pronunciation.  They can read the words but when you ask them what it means you get blank stares.  It is hard to see but insidious.  How can we be a nation of law if people can’t understand simple sentences?

Do you know how to use a dictionary?  Do you know how to look up a word that you don’t know how to spell?  I do.  Young people don’t.  And worse, they don’t care.  Communication is impossible if you cannot agree on what words mean.  It is a greater threat to liberty to be ignorant of dictionaries than not knowing how to text.

Young people are losing the ability to drive.  At a recent Sunday School class I had six young people ranging from 16 to 28 years old.  Not one of them had a driver’s licence or any plans of getting one.  They are being groomed for government control by bus schedule.  Buses eat up your time and put you at the mercy of a faceless bureaucrat. 

That brings up map reading.  With GPS and Google maps, no one needs to be able to read a map any more.  The device will talk you through the steps of getting where you are going.  It will take you the way it is programmed to go, even if it is much further.  One of the big dangers is that unless the controllers of the media program in where you want to go, it doesn’t exist. 

I am sure the list is longer but you get the idea. 

I shudder for the future of the masses.

homo unius libri