Angry!

Once in a while, I get really angry. The last time this happened was during a forum. It was about “un-schooling”. The system of collective (federal) schools was judged to be the only appropriate variant of teaching and “education” for young persons and “un-schooling” was said to be socially inacceptable.

There are other statements I also very much object to. For instance, I see red when I hear

THAT

• We have to produce weapons.
• Lobbyism is a necessary part of our economy.
• A speed-limit would ruin said economy.
• Concerns have to make maximum profit.
• There is no alternative to constant growth.
• Dismissal protection cannot be abolished.
• It is total nonsense to think about a “UBI” (unconditional basic income, instead of all the social subsidies).
• BND and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution are absolutely important and necessary.
• Total transparency and openness in society and software is not possible.
• There is no alternative to patents and copyright.
• The climate catastrophe is just an invention of green nerds.
• You have to tolerate both circumcision
• And the suppression of women
• …

But back to the school discussion: if some people shun classic systems such as the school system, then this is, for me, the last and as I fear eventually unsuccessful attempt of individual persons to flee from a world I actually do not like at all..

I MEAN A WORLD

• Where people, both individually and collectively, act in a way I disapprove of;
• Where stupidity always wins and where I get the impression that it is not possible to be so stupid unless you act as a group (see also Dueck – Schwarmdumm),
• Where few of us actually get far too much warmth and calories, yet others get nothing – which means everything is taken from all of us;
• Where they tell us we are omnipotent, yet de facto there is the permanent attempt at total manipulation;
• Where they try to take away our freedom and to convert us into becoming servants fitting the system;
• Where nobody likes you if you critically ask “why”;
• Where the question “what profit can I make from this?” is the motivating factor for all our actions;
• That tries to make unequal things equal;
• That tries to discourage us from being creative;
• That dissuades us from believing in utopia;
• Where all you hear all the time is “it cannot be done, anyway”, “this is how we always did it” and “yes, but…”;
• Where, from earliest childhood on, we are accused of being “guilty”, regardless of the fact that our brains are not all built to know how to deal with such accusations;
• Where everybody talks about eye-level, sharing, participation, respect, tolerance, civil courage, … but
• Where every attempt at autonomy is first and foremost punished;
• Where invitations to “give more than you take” and to “remain true to yourself” sound like mockery;
• Where, as a matter of course, you make others feel smaller, rather than bigger;
• Where rules from the natural sciences are welcome as long as they are useful, but abhorred when they clash with what we want.
• …

In evolutional theory, they say that matters will only change when the old generation dies out. Consequently, I have all the respect in the world for parents who take responsibility and decide to teach their own children. These days, such a pledge in favour of the family is scarce. And to do so, you have to focus on the important things in life and to forego many luxuries.

Isn’t it a lot easier and more comfortable to put children (incidentally, the same is true for the elderly) into storage? To be sure, sooner or later the parents will bow under the pressure of the school. They will become aliens in the eyes of their own children and eventually even turn into the agents of the system “school” – against the interests and wishes of their own children.

This means that the variants of “un-schooling”, “no-schooling” and “home-schooling” are not arrogant or uppity, but revolutionary. In fact, we need this kind of courage to replace thoughtless following in many other areas of our lives (nutrition, leisure time, life style, …). Just like we need the willingness to make “sacrifices” for our future and to work towards contentedness and happiness, rather than buying it.

For a good “un-schooling”, you have to give your children much. Especially the most precious commodity you have: time. It is scarce. It also takes a lot of time to change your own life. Consequently, time is something we should not waste. And we have to distance ourselves from what they want to sell us as desirable.

Abstinence takes an effort. Yet abstinence is probably the first counter-measure against being controlled by others. You can easily be heading towards disaster if your life is controlled by others. Perhaps it is even harder for lonely persons to find their own lives.

It is well worth trying to flee the formatting of a perverse society. We humans have spent enough time letting others turn us into trained monkeys. It was especially perverse during the long 19th century. Enlightenment can only have been a first step. It brought us peace and freedom, but also war and destruction.

Well, for me this means more than ever that we need a second enlightenment. And we have to continue dreaming our utopian dreams of a soft and violence-free world without “punishment” and “revenge”.

Thank you very much!

RMD
(Translated by EG)

P.S.

Incidentally, in Germany, the “un-schooling” discussion is beside the point. As opposed to other European countries, it is explicitly forbidden by law. Regardless of the EU and all the bureaucracy that comes with it…