There is a saying being bandied about lately, namely, stay woke. I will explain the meaning of this for the benefit of those who are too square or just too old to understand such modern vernacular. When kids these days say, "Stay woke," what they really mean is "Stay awake." I know...it's crazy. Now they don't mean that you should literally stay awake, of course. What they really mean is that you should stay abreast of the social, political, and economic issues that are facing our world today. Instead of saying "Stay woke," you could say "Be socially aware," but that would make too much sense and would never catch on. As with many misuses of the English language, stay woke has caught on not despite that fact that it is grammatically incorrect, but because it features grammar that is not simply bad, but distinctively bad. It's so bad that it has caught on. If you're the adventurous type, you can go over to the Urban Dictionary and read some of the definitions (I take no responsibility for what you read there!) they offer.
Staying woke, while grammatically incorrect, is an excellent idea. I am grateful to have been raised in a household where a general education was prioritized. Politics/political theory, economics, and history were discussed and studied in our house because my parents, particularly my father, wanted us to be aware of the issues of the day and how we should react to them as Christians. Sometimes that meant just sitting back and watching the dumpster fire that is our political system burn, but, hey, at least we were aware! I really don't want this to come across as a pride thing. I'm not saying that we were the best-educated folks in the world, but at least they tried to make sure we would grow up to be semi-intelligent people who knew what was transpiring in the world.
This type of upbringing is, unfortunately, one which many of my peers did not receive. Many of the Generation Xers dedicated far too much time to hedonistic endeavors (sports, TV/movies, etc.) and far too little time taking advantage of the educational advances of the past two centuries. In others words, technology, which should make us smarter, has dumbed us down. The result is a generation of millennials who resent their parents' ignorance of and apathy towards social issues. They view their parents and grandparents as outdated, backwards, and crude. They are sick of the status quo that has been perpetuated by generations of bipartisan politics and big-banker "capitalism."
This current "wokeness" has also been fueled by the social media age. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has an opinion. We are all constantly aware of every political issue, social controversy, and violent tragedy, etc. The last election, a fitting illustration of our country's decline, was inescapable for the better part of year. Celebrities used social media to spread the word about voting and our beloved president himself employed (and, unfortunately, continues to employ) Twitter to stir up the liberals throughout his campaign.
As I said, staying woke is a good idea. Our country, no, mankind, has many issues and we should all be aware of what is going on in the world. The problem is that being woke is not necessarily the same thing as being educated. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. Those who resent their parents' apathy towards social issues were rarely the recipients of the type of education that qualifies someone to rectify the world's problems, which means that Millennials' reactions to social injustices and ineffective economic policies are often well-intentioned, yet poorly-informed. Basically we have a generation of zealous young people who have no concept of history, economics, etc. They voice their opinions loudly and often, but they really don't understand the fundamental principles of government and finance. This is, my friends, what generations of parental apathy and public education have produced--dissatisfied and restless ignoramuses.
Wokeness, then, should never be divorced from education. Put more timelessly, social and political activity should always be based upon a well-educated understanding of the issues. Few things in this world are more dangerous than ignorant zeal. Ever heard of the French Revolution? If not, you probably shouldn't try to start a revolution in America. If you have, you're aware of the instability and bloodshed that can result from misguided antipathy. The French lower and middle classes knew what they didn't want (a political system that perpetuated the abusive corruption of the lower classes by the upper class), but they didn't really have a plan for replacing it (chopping off heads only really gets you so far). Our current system is absolutely corrupt and broken, but replacing it with more corruption and even less effective economic policies is not the answer.
So, my friends, stay woke, but, even more importantly, read a book or two.
Staying woke, while grammatically incorrect, is an excellent idea. I am grateful to have been raised in a household where a general education was prioritized. Politics/political theory, economics, and history were discussed and studied in our house because my parents, particularly my father, wanted us to be aware of the issues of the day and how we should react to them as Christians. Sometimes that meant just sitting back and watching the dumpster fire that is our political system burn, but, hey, at least we were aware! I really don't want this to come across as a pride thing. I'm not saying that we were the best-educated folks in the world, but at least they tried to make sure we would grow up to be semi-intelligent people who knew what was transpiring in the world.
This type of upbringing is, unfortunately, one which many of my peers did not receive. Many of the Generation Xers dedicated far too much time to hedonistic endeavors (sports, TV/movies, etc.) and far too little time taking advantage of the educational advances of the past two centuries. In others words, technology, which should make us smarter, has dumbed us down. The result is a generation of millennials who resent their parents' ignorance of and apathy towards social issues. They view their parents and grandparents as outdated, backwards, and crude. They are sick of the status quo that has been perpetuated by generations of bipartisan politics and big-banker "capitalism."
This current "wokeness" has also been fueled by the social media age. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has an opinion. We are all constantly aware of every political issue, social controversy, and violent tragedy, etc. The last election, a fitting illustration of our country's decline, was inescapable for the better part of year. Celebrities used social media to spread the word about voting and our beloved president himself employed (and, unfortunately, continues to employ) Twitter to stir up the liberals throughout his campaign.
As I said, staying woke is a good idea. Our country, no, mankind, has many issues and we should all be aware of what is going on in the world. The problem is that being woke is not necessarily the same thing as being educated. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. Those who resent their parents' apathy towards social issues were rarely the recipients of the type of education that qualifies someone to rectify the world's problems, which means that Millennials' reactions to social injustices and ineffective economic policies are often well-intentioned, yet poorly-informed. Basically we have a generation of zealous young people who have no concept of history, economics, etc. They voice their opinions loudly and often, but they really don't understand the fundamental principles of government and finance. This is, my friends, what generations of parental apathy and public education have produced--dissatisfied and restless ignoramuses.
Wokeness, then, should never be divorced from education. Put more timelessly, social and political activity should always be based upon a well-educated understanding of the issues. Few things in this world are more dangerous than ignorant zeal. Ever heard of the French Revolution? If not, you probably shouldn't try to start a revolution in America. If you have, you're aware of the instability and bloodshed that can result from misguided antipathy. The French lower and middle classes knew what they didn't want (a political system that perpetuated the abusive corruption of the lower classes by the upper class), but they didn't really have a plan for replacing it (chopping off heads only really gets you so far). Our current system is absolutely corrupt and broken, but replacing it with more corruption and even less effective economic policies is not the answer.
So, my friends, stay woke, but, even more importantly, read a book or two.
Comments
Post a Comment