Month: April 2010

I have always admired new immigrants, people willing to give it all up and try for a better life on another land. What always amused me in history was that after the trail was blazed, civilized and made safe; then others followed bringing with them their bureaucratic class ideals and ineffectual old fashioned ways. In fact, the later wave brought with them those same values that the original settlers found so repugnant and desired escape.

In a marvelous book that I was fortunate to acquire by William James, America’s eminent Psychologist of the last century, entitled  ‘Memories and Studies’ (1911) published a couple years after his death, James was concerned that we were adapting some of the failed ways of thinking that handicapped much of Europe at the time. Ironically, it does seem like we are facing the same challenge again today. I have linked the entire essay on the photo above. Here are a few of his observations.

“…whatever evolution our state-examinations are destined to undergo, our universities at least should never cease to regard themselves as the jealous custodians of personal and spiritual spontaneity. They are indeed its only organized and recognized custodians in America to-day. They ought to guard against contributing to the increase of officialism and snobbery and insincerity as against a pestilence; they ought to keep truth and disinterested labor always in the foreground, treat degrees as secondary incidents, and in season and out of season make it plain that what they live for is to help men’s souls, and not to decorate their persons with diplomas.”

“It is indeed odd to see this love of titles — and such titles — growing up in a country of which the recognition of individuality and bare manhood have so long been supposed to be the very soul. The independence of the State, in which most of our colleges stand, relieves us of those more odious forms of academic politics which continental European countries present.”

“But are we Americans ourselves destined after all to hunger after similar vanities on an infinitely more contemptible scale? And is individuality with us also going to count for nothing unless stamped and licensed and authenticated by some title-giving machine? Let us pray that our ancient national genius may long preserve vitality enough to guard us from a future so unmanly and so unbeautiful!”

Genius is obvious to all who see it; however, it needs development and encouragement.  food for thought.

Roger Freberg

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