Education

I devote part of every day to my education. It is unfortunate that education has been equated with degrees and tuition-collecting institutions as part of capitalism's dog-eat-dog competition for jobs. Education mills, which include some of the most prestigious universities who readily admit those with family wealth and provenance, are as much part of the problems of society as they are part of society's solutions.

Self-education is the acknowledged responsibility assumed by the awakened. Feeding on the stuff of conventional textbooks is not a well balanced intellectual diet. We are fortunate to live in an age of ready access to information on the Web. Then why is the human population becoming more stupid, according to some research? The answer is simple: An educated populace is more difficult to manipulate, and media are focused on selling and manipulating viewers to buy, rather than educating.

Looking beyond the reports of media takes time away from watching television, Web porn or playing video games. It actually requires concentration, reading and skepticism. These are the ingredients of the self-education process. My humanist practice grew from education and develops with education. Taking time every day to pursue knowledge is as important as eating and exercising daily.