by Chase Fleming on September 13, 2010
“He is wise who knows the sources of knowledge — where it is written and where it is to be found.”
-A.A. Hodge
In our grandparents’ time, intelligence was associated with memorization. In order to excel, one had to be well versed and able to recite formulas, historical dates, and concepts, because when the time came to apply it, it would take hours to travel to the library, find the necessary books, and then sort through them until you found the desired information.
But today that process has been simplified. Instead of traveling to the library, a user can access search engines and academic databases in an instant. And then, at the drop of a hat, the document can be searched through with a click. Knowledge by memorization has become a thing of the past. “The skills of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis will become the hallmarks of a good education, just as absorption of knowledge once was,” said the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. This new process is called information literacy and is the basis for what we now define as knowledge.
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by Chase Fleming on September 1, 2010
Jasmine closes her eyes, takes a breath, and begins belting out Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” in front of three judges. Jasmine had spent 12 hours out in the cold waiting for her chance at becoming an overnight success, but the judges tell her this will be the end of the road. Her dreams shattered, she sulks away in disbelief.
This story is not unique to Jasmine, she is among the 100,000 who try out for American Idol every year. These kids all believe that they are destined to have their name in shining lights, but it is not until an awakening like Jasmine’s that dreams of fame become nothing but a dim memory.
Jasmine is a member of Generation Y — a generation who earned not only a birth from their mothers, but a second birth on the internet. Each of their identities has been designed so that the world can be constantly apprised to every minute detail of their lives, as if anyone cared. They believe everyone wants to hear what they think, do, and see at any given moment, so their stream of consciousness is on display in Facebook and Twitter and you can find their video responses to Kanye West’s new video on YouTube. They have become masters of self-promotion, even before they developed a sense-of-self.
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by Chase Fleming on July 26, 2010
The 1980′s were the glory days of hypermasculinity. Stallone, Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, and their cohorts couldn’t wait to rip off their shirts to save the world. It was a time when you could settle an issue with an arm wrestle. But these days have long gone, and while a small number of steroid junkies still live for its revival, their efforts have landed American muscle in the background of reality television shows, like Jersey Shore, that are more of a punchline than a punch up hit.
The push for its comeback is no more evident than in Stallone’s upcoming movie, The Expendables, which is said to be a revival of ’80s flicks and stars Stallone, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis — just to name a few. Growing up with my eyes glued to these action movies, I have to say I’m slightly excited to relive my childhood up on the silver screen; but only in the same way Adam Sandler found the humor in sticking a grown man back in elementary school in Billy Madison. At some point, the time has passed.
But while movies like this may be a childish thing for our culture, it may also be answering just what society is asking for. Michael Kimmel, a sociologist, depicts in his book, Guyland, an entitled generation where men thought the world was theirs, but they awoke to a much different reality when women began moving up in the workforce and many of their privileges they once felt were inherited, had now gone missing. But it is this confusion, Kimmel says, that is causing guys to take an extra decade to grow up and become men. Movies, like The Expendables, could likely help fill that void by re-establishing hypermasculinity as a dominating force.
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by Chase Fleming on July 21, 2010
Sadly, a great man, Christopher Hitchens, was recently diagnosed with cancer. But what’s sadder, but not surprising, is the Christian response to this tragedy. While some Christians have acted with kindness and respect, it is Francisco Contreras — who amazingly got a column at the Washington Post and a medical degree without any apparent research skills or knowledge — who is adding to Christians’ bad name.
His article, Pray for Hitch? Christian healing for believers, atheists, in the “On Faith” section of the Washington Post (don’t ask me how this seriously became a section), notes two celebrities recently cancer stricken: Christopher Hitchens and Christian disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada.
Contreras goes to wonder if Hitchens illness “could be the result of God’s judgment?” But as for Tada, no questions are asked. The hypocrisy must be noted. For the record, I do not believe there is such a thing as God’s judgment — but for sake of argument let’s say there is — then if Hitchens is considered stricken by God’s judgment, shouldn’t Tada be as well?
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