Jan 29 2013: So Powell cannot express his views here and yet Pastor Rick Warren, Atheist Dennett etc can speak about their beliefs and lack of and this should be removed? What has he said that is warrants removal? That sounds like baseless censorship. I am not an educator but a parent with kids who attend public schools and I have every right to express my ideas about what kids want. So only educators should talks about what we need to do to help our kids? That sounds like a tyranny of professionalism.
Jan 29 2013: What do you mean by new world? Do you mean the youth I encounter on the train every morning who show no respect for others not even themselves, do you mean kids who can curse at their parents and cannot even clean their own rooms, you mean kids who lack empathy and have become bullies? I do not get where you people think Powell is advocating for stripping kid's creativity. Who says structure kills creativity? Lets take one simple thing, bed time. If you have a rigid system for bed time so that your kids get enough sleep to be healthy and ready to take on their tasks, is that killing their creativity? Why not let them play until they feel it is time to get to bed? If you have a strict routine about TV watching, respect for each other in the household, dressing appropriately is that killing creativity? I seriously do not get it.
Jan 29 2013: It seems that what Gen. Powell is saying in an ideal, yes I believe no child deserves to be left behind. In fact if your child is to live in a peaceful world that same "struggling" child should be helped as much as we can as a community. I agree that we need to think of ways of helping struggling kids without sacrificing the development of others, but that calls for imagination on our part. So perhaps rather than shot down his ideas we need to start thinking of ways to make things better. I appreciated your post up until your "equal and Socialism" statement. First ALL humans are equal even though we do not live similar lives, even though some are poor some are wealthy, etc. Why is it that any attempt to help the underprivileged is called socialism? When I was at school in Cambridge, MA Paul Farmer once spoke to us and asked us whether any time we make statements we were starting a conversation of ending it. I feel the deployment of "Socialism" is used as a conversation stopper and that is sad.
Oct 18 2011: Wow, how pessimistic and negative we have become. No wonder innovators are few and far between. If Thomas Edison, Graham Bell, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. had listened to people on this blog, I wonder where we would be. That computer you are using incorporates technologies that were deemed impossible, too difficult, unmarketable etc etc. Some of us have even resorted to name calling, really? On TED?
Jul 30 2011: I meant good for Africa. You are right that the Chinese are clear about their priorities, China. Now given the lack of interest from African governments to do what is right for their people, it seems China will benefit at the expense of Africa.
Jul 30 2011: Are guns the only thing to watch out for? In the last 50 years Europe and the US have not been carrying guns (I am not talking about arming rebels etc) on the continent of Africa but through their economic policies have exerted great negative influence. What do you think?
Jul 29 2011: Prof Michael Sandel makes its very clear that whenever we argue about these issues, we are normally arguing about the honors that go with social institutions such as marriage. As far as "real" is concerned, that depends. To the person making the argument their perspective is "real" or valid to them. That is why we need to find "the lost art of democratic debate" otherwise we end up with versions of justice that violate the rights of people whose lifestyles is incompatible with our values. You are right that the arguments about marrying dogs and children can easily be dismissed on grounds on consent but once we have cleared that hurdle we clearly need a debate.
Jul 28 2011: So the rich want to spread their wealth? Now that is a first. So you want them to share their wealth? If you take a clear look at your question you will see that your question makes little sense given that the gap between the wealthy and the poor is huge. I think when we label a sense of social justice as socialism we stop conversation or a healthy one for that matter to develop.
Jul 28 2011: Well given the way things are going in Europe and the United States, it is hard to say there is money for such huge projects. Maybe money for two more wars yes. Personally I think we have to look at the way we consume energy before we start on trillion dollar projects to produce cheap energy that will we just waste.
Jul 28 2011: It seems to me that we are paying more for college than people can afford and the system is so corrupt young people feel trapped. In addition, we have all these suggestions about making cuts to education when other countries are investing more into their educational programs. However, there are studies that have been done that show that those who have graduated from college earn more than those who did not. Of course things are changing and it is not always that this work our for a college grad. What I would advice though is that you are still young and do not throw away this chance. Life happens and things make it harder to get back to college with age, it will not be easy to get back to college in your 30's or later on. Perhaps you need to ask yourself this question "If I drop out of college now, what next?"
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