The Danger of Mindlessness
Dear Diane,
Sixty year ago, as a student at the University of Chicago, I met a wonderful man named Chick (Ernest) Callenbach. He moved westward and I moved eastward, and we gradually lost touch. Last month he died, and left behind some words that touched me deeply: (See May 6, 2012, on TomDispatch.com)
Sixty year ago, as a student at the University of Chicago, I met a wonderful man named Chick (Ernest) Callenbach. He moved westward and I moved eastward, and we gradually lost touch. Last month he died, and left behind some words that touched me deeply: (See May 6, 2012, on TomDispatch.com)
"To all brothers and sisters who hold the dream in their hearts of a future world in which humans and all other beings live in harmony and mutual support—a world of sustainability, stability, and confidence."A few days later someone sent me a piece by Paul Goodman, called "The Empty Society," from 1966! As a fan of Goodman and Callenbach (although not in agreement half the time!), I was touched by how prescient Goodman's words were about schools and the role of corporate greed in its decline. His final words in that lecture (which can be heard on the CBCradio website, "Ideas with Paul Kennedy") reminded me of Chick's final words:
"The chief danger at present is our mindlessness, induced by empty institutions ... We have all the talking points but less and less content ... We have lost our common sense for which we were