Constructing the Future - PBS

Public television has a new campaign to whip up donors... particularly dead ones who wish to leave a trust. That's cool. So far, so good.

The spot that I saw this morning had a voiceover by a "teacher" (the hairshirt wearing ascetic sisterhood of the left) extolling the virtues of Public TV. It was a cavalcade of Noble Savage and Blank Slate mumbo jumbo.

"We CAN construct the future. We can capture the idealism and innocence of children and use it to change the world."

I wonder if this "teacher" knew that she was channeling Rousseau? I wonder if she knows who he was and how his philosophical ideas helped shape the way that she views the world?

No matter. It's such a pleasant fantasy. Children are unspoiled, "natural" humans full of goodness and light. Children are wise... adults are polluted. It's only when technology and the culture of profit gets in the way when we have bad stuff.

It takes a village of un-selfexamined knuckleheads to raise a child to such a simple minded role model.