A discussion that happened today was a little befuddling. Somehow the class topic ended up on the conservation--or not--of the spotted owl and its habitat, or the timber industry's harvesting of its habitat.
One enlightened voice, I'll call him Dick, said, "Why not just put the owl in a zoo and then cut all the trees down? That way everyone could at least see it."
I wonder what it will take to get people to understand that 'natural resource' is not a another way of saying 'rape-able.' Sustainability is just another polysyllabic word Dick doesn't bother to look up.
Dick is a moron but he isn't alone.
I run across this sort of thing daily. It is terrifying to think that this is the future. That these kids are going to run the world one day. They aren't learning anything more than what daddy taught them from his Lay-z-boy. They are only learning how to be better at it. And they have the immediate gratification that if they do have the chance to chop down a tree, it'll buy them a new H3. Anyone for progress?
Not only does Dick's mentality exist here, it persists and breeds. The governor and state legislature just went through another round of budget cuts. Higher education is absolutely fucked. Our university is now looking like it could be $50+ mil in the hole. Profs are getting notice, quality of education is bound to suffer.
Trickle down values. Thanks folks. We'll just keep cranking out Dicks.
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