It was an April morning at 7:30 A.M., and despite the early weekend hour, the four members of the Roth family were fully awake. All had fallen victim to the chronic metastasis of the classic, Seasonal Pajama Syndrome, a non-toxic epidemic, having its advent the first weekend morning of the Roth children’s Spring Break from College. The children, Bernard and Betsy, students, Sophomore and Junior years, respectively, at the same University, after a measure of the usual familial exchanges, raised certain perplexing issues concerning the notable change in Collegiate atmosphere in the past several months.
Bernard and Betsy unhappily articulated the notable retrogressive change in atmosphere, of their University, from the institutional aspiration to educate and enlighten undergraduates, to an institution, defensively dedicated to not ruffling the feathers of an unschooled, autocratic Chief of State; the latter, with a woefully insufficient appreciation for the principal strengthening of the Nation by the creation of an enlightened and capable citizenry, and an atavistic and harmful lust for singular and unlimited power
The well-informed parents, themselves, distressed by the identical dilemma, given that the context of the questions was empirically irrefutable, at first, found it impossible to responsibly reply, but after some moments of contemplation, offered the following response:”
“The rules of the game, such as those enunciated in our Constitution and rules of law, are just, but obviously not self-enforcing. It is within the fundamental character of Man to choose to abide by the humanistic social contract, whose terms were empirically proven by history to be societally and individually just and successful, or to refrain from such compliance, despite the history of Civilized society having historically profited and advanced by such compliance.
It has eternally been the case that when Man has chosen to observe the societally established norms of behavior and inter-personal interaction, he has benefited and advanced, spiritually and simultaneously in capability. The ultimate existential value of truth and aspirations for beneficial enlightenment exist as eternal pathways to humanistic fulfillment and, contextually, do not diminish with their individualized, anecdotal betrayal. Such a fundamental truth is encouraged by an adequate, informative, and secular education, such as is offered by a liberal education, and cannot be intrinsically undermined by tyrants and snake-oil demagogues.
The presenting challenges to citizens and educational institutions do not, in the slightest degree, detract from the foundational values of enlightened truth and moral equality. No temporal offender of reason or justice can long boast of his pernicious success nor detract from the ultimate survival of a just humankind.”
We then proceeded to our institutionalized coffee, bagels, and cream cheese. [It also appears to have stopped raining,]
-p,
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