nizean monads, we are now discovering, that lack windows.rnMore than once I have referred to the metaphysical, implyingrnits absence from contemporary educational discussion.rnThe wonderful German word Armutszeugnis might best berntranslated as “confession of inner poverty,” and surely this describesrnthe intellectual future engineered for us by the educationalrnbureaucrats. A little over 200 years ago the philosopherrnKant posited three questions central to being human—Whatrncan I know? What ought I do? And for what may I hope?—rnand found their integration possible in terms of one terse butrnsynoptic query: What is man? From Kant’s view, these questionsrnand their pursuit were unavoidable and, however finallyrnimpossible of consummation, certified our humanity.rnTimes have surely changed. If Nietzsche’s announcement ofrnGod’s demise provided a dramatic opportunity to usher out therntheological from professional educational debate, Freud’s remarkrnto Marie Bonaparte that such questions as Kant’s werernthemselves symptomatic of illness encouraged the emptying ofrnthe metaphysical arena altogether. Now reflections regardingrnthe meaning and ends of human life are shelved with suchrnrelics as phrenology and phlogiston theory and paid the samernpatronizing anthropological courtesy: “Once people thought.rn. . . How charmingly quaint! It was not known in those timesrnthat. .. .”rnBut this does not mean that the Kantian questions werernmagically suspended. No, in governmentally encouraged, professionalrneducational planning groups they have been largelyrnanswered, if only by myopic (though politically correct) default.rnStudents in particular—thus, the “future”—can know that,rnhowever similar, human beings are different, but in their differencernthey are really “the same,” their activities and creationsrnvaluable in a manner not subject to evaluation. Givenrnthese epistemological insights, ethics can be truly diverse in itsrnaffirmation of everything: everyone ought equally to empowerrneveryone else, thereby raising the level of self-esteem inrna manner that neither lifts nor separates anyone (or anything)rnfrom any other, thereby avoiding the implications of rank, accomplishment,rnexcellence, or exclusion. (If political socialismrnwas criticized for requiring too many evening meetings, culturalrnsocialism will likely be charged with engendering too manyrnsleepy afternoons.) The grand hope in all this is that a sufficientlyrnlarge pie might eventually be baked (and celebrated) sornthat all may effortlessly and in equal measure devour it, in thernprocess acknowledging that all ingredients, and the ensuing result,rnare technologically sound, culturally diverse, but indistinguishablernin value from other ingredients which might havernbeen used. The consumption of this pie, advertised on arnhome-shopping network, is what it is “all about”—life, that is.rnAnd what, then, is “man”? The one-dimensional, profane,rnand cozily materialistic parameters now circumscribing thisrnquestion, their seductive secularism and lazy, largely mid- tornlow-brow aestheticism, render it too depressing to pursue. Underrnthese circumstances Prozac may prove salvific, at least forrnthose scattered souls not completely manipulated, indoctrinated,rnand ultimately numbed by this paltry vision.rnRescue often arrives from the least favorable of sources, andrnsuch it may well be for the coming night in which all creationsrn(and creatures, even) are altogether “correct.” The college presidentrnmentioned at the beginning of this essay spoke of utilitarianrnbiases in the service of global economic competitiveness. Ifrncultural socialism, the gradual extinction of the discriminate,rnimplies passively acquired esteem, economic restructuring andrnenhancement demand actively pursued, mostly measurable results.rnThey require skill, energy, efficiency, and discriminationrnof the highest order, however humanistically impoverished.rnThe collision of these prerequisites with the political directivesrnembedded in a currently unfocused “trickle-down” multiculturalismrnwill likely engender a conflict unholy in nature and unholyrnto watch. If one side prevails, we replay the late stages ofrnthe Roman Empire; if the other, we experience brisk philistinismrnnot dissimilar to the best of an aliterate public works administration,rnstaffed by willing, though intellectually and spirituallyrnsanitized, technicians.rnThe important issue is whether a space can be discovered orrnengendered, a locus for transcendence, in which questionsrnregarding what might really matter could again become unavoidablern—and not just for the few. Were this to happen,rneveryday life, education, and the journey of the (much neglected)rnhuman soul might confront one another in a mannerrnboth painful and saving. The current metaphysics of emptinessrnwould selectively dissolve, and the politics of education wouldrnjoin Alice in Blunderland. Our spirits might again receiverncontinuing and even, occasionally, public sustenance.rnBarring this outcome, it is hard to imagine any hope asidernfrom strategies of withdrawal. Has the loud noise of the educationalrnworld drowned out those necessary silences in whichrnwisdom and character grow? Might the strength, the courage,rnand the unblinking compassion paradoxically required for discriminaternjudgment then be nurtured in small, separated communities?rnOurs may now and finally be the time for thernreemergence of a late-Hellenistic retreat and renewal. Surelyrnthe metaphysics and politics of our current day offer no plausiblernalternative. < £ •rnHistory Is Not Finishedrnby Peter RussellrnI wonder, is there any sense at allrnEither in what they say or what they dornMy own life’s absolutely senseless toornAn endless waiting for the bombs to fallrnNot only on the crowd beyond the wallrn(Who hardly count) but on our mindless crew.rnHere and now,—and that means me and yournThe wall’s set down—it’s moving at our call.rnWe are the ones drawing the noose around usrnThe barbarians are massing day by dayrnIn search of shelter, money, food and workrnAnd like a moving wall will soon surround usrnNothing we do can keep these hordes awayrnThe TV newsmen wear a nasty smirk.rn28/CHRONICLESrnrnrn