The Merit of the uneducated

A daily internal rant generally gets me through that monotonous time of the day where i have to walk 15 minutes from the dart to my house. I may be talking to the taoiseach, a radio show presenter or some opinionated workmate that is often too scary to criticise. I like these debates. I play out both sides and often I win. Who wouldn't like that. The fact of the matter is it is rare for me to have an actual debate like this in the everyday world with an everyday person and this evening I am wondering why. In today's world I am uneducated. I dont have a degree. i dont have a particular area of expertise or discipline but i argue that there is definitely merit in this. Think about it. Everybody that runs this country. Everybody you go to for professional advice has more than likely been through third level education. Now on no level am i saying this is a bad thing i am merely stating that there is also a lot to be taken from the person who hasnt. I often ask myself where do my ideas and opinions come from. Do I actually come up with them myself or am i simply reiterating what i have already read or which someone else deems to be true or fact. I think our current climate is a perfect example of how academia can stifle your creative and problem solving abilities and that at times we should look to the uneducated and unboxed individual for new and possible radical ideas. They are not bound by information on past examples and theories that have been "tried and tested" and instead have a wealth of unsolicited knowledge based on many different sources. Their ideas come not from text books but from songs, people, random thoughts, newspapers, eavesdropping and the ability to imagine and creatively create possible solutions. Contrary to what a lot of us where taught in school, imagination, intuition and creativity are absolutely needed in todays society and i feel that in a way education can actually mould people to think and live just like our neighbour. Never daring to question their perception. Dont get me wrong there are also many merits to having an education (I certainly wouldnt want my heart surgeon magically imagining or intuitively sculpting away at my aortic valve) however i am merely pointing out the possible merit of the uneducated. Something to think about maybe. I have.

Starting to blog - mmmm

So here is my first blog and let me tell you. It is scary. It has been a long time since i have written anything that will be read by anyone more than my future nostalgic self! So, what do I want to write about. What do I care about enough to bother to try and share with other people. I like this question, its making me really think. I guess something i really care about and something that has been on my mind a lot over the last few days is the notion of community. Its probably the main reason i navigated to bloggers.com, picked my little theme for my page and started to write. I want to be part of something, i want to contribute and i want to think on some level im helping. I attended a workshop recently on Social Media Networking and have been so inspired since. The idea that individuals now have mass media in their own hands, that people want and are interested in listening to their virtual next door neighbour stirs the revolutionary within me. No longer can we be duped into thinking and believing what those with a bit of cash want us to believe. The scope of this is so far reaching and im glad i realise this.

I truly believe in my fellow man. I believe we want to be good and we want to contribute positively to this world but i am not naive enough to believe that this is always what happens. Humans are capable of such brutality born out of jealousy and hate that i often feel disillusioned and powerless. But from that a small spark always strikes and i realise that at the core of all of us is a want for love and acceptance. This want can breed compassion and altruism but can also lead us down the other path. Isnt it interesting that that these most opposite of feelings are really just two sides of the same coin. However i do not believe we randomly fall on the heads or the tails but that we make that tough choice to ignore sometimes the base instinct to screw over our fellow man and decide to be good. It is one hell of a hard choice which sometime i fail at but the intention alone helps me to keep my faith the world is truly a romantic and fantastical place to be. 

Wow that lead me down some path, my first blog; ive enjoyed it.