Cheated By “Practical” Education

Meditations on Moronic America

A philosophical treatise (sort of) and a memoir (sort of)

I begin with a disclaimer: It may sound like I am about to write snobbishly, looking down my nose at “moronic” Americans. That is not quite accurate. If anything, this is a critique of an educational system that has, over many decades, focused upon education in the service of capitalism and practicality, rather than in the service of self-improvement, critical thinking, intellectualism, and the pursuit of an answer to the question: What is the meaning of life?

So, yes, in choosing a title speaking of “moronic America,” I am technically calling people morons. However, they were made morons, and not innately born as such. They were cheated out of the rightful inheritance of humanity, the inheritance that the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the ancient wisdom of East Asia, and the grand civilizations of Africa and South America bequeathed to us, which all have been frittered away and supplanted by our Church of Consumerism. Too many Americans have been cheated.

I was cheated, too.

Photo by author

I took this photo at the local bookstore as I perused one of the smallest sections in the store: The philosophy section. It struck my funny bone, seeing a philosophical…