the Gently Mad

I’ve been a long time fan of Don Miller, ever since I read Blue Like Jazz in college. While, not without his problems, I have always enjoyed his writing and been encouraged.

Just saw this new book on Amazon and got all excited until I realized that it won’t be out until the middle of next year. It looks interesting though…

You’ve all seem them, and if you’re under 30, then you may be one of them. Whether is the carefully half-untucked polo shirt with the collar popped up, or the huge white belt that matches nothing else the person is wearing, or the $50 T-shirt designed to look like it was found in a dumpster, or the lawnmower haircut, these people can be spotted a mile away.

I’m speaking of those individuals of my generation and younger that are supremely concerned with being “indie.”

Maybe I’m just getting old, but this phenomenon has always struck me as incredibly ridiculous and phony. That is, people so driven by the desire to different from everyone else that they become just like everyone else.

The Art of Manliness posted a great article that pretty much sums of my entire problem with this phenomenon. He says:

The indie identity is based on the idea of being independent from the mainstream. To this end, indie people buy clothes, CD’s, furniture, books, food, and concert and movie tickets that are not popular with the masses. Instead of going to Chili’s, they frequent their local Thai restaurant; instead of going to Wal-Mart, they go to Whole Foods; instead of picking up the new Coldplay CD, they buy an album from Blood Red Shoes; instead of shopping at the Gap, they buy from American Apparel; instead of buying a Dell they buy an Apple (sure they’re a big corporation, but they’re so cool). But what is the common denominator in all of those things? Spending money. Consumption. Indie people express their independence from the mainstream by doing the single most mainstream thing possible: basing their identity on what they consume.

A decade ago it was cool to wear clothing with a company’s logo splashed all over it. Nike and Gap labels were proudly displayed as badges of honor. These days such clothing is considered laughable; now shoppers want clothes that look unique or vintage (although frequently that “vintage” tee costs $40). But the underlying motivation remains the same; people are still expressing themselves by the clothes they buy. It doesn’t matter that instead of buying things from big corporations you buy free trade coffee, organic apples, and handmade Guatemalan rugs, you’re still basing your personal identity on your identity as a consumer. You are driven by the desire to consume something first before it is consumed by the masses. It’s the new millennium’s take on “keeping up with the Jonses.” And it’s just as conformist as it was in the 50’s.

Read the rest here. Everyone else is.

Very interesting article over at DangitBill! that I found via Challies.

For a long time I’ve wanted to write at length about homeschooling and its place in our world. I have very strong opinions because I was homeschooled. Nevertheless, I haven’t yet had the time to collect my thoughts in a way that would be profitable. However, that may change in comming days as my family continues to grow in size.

Brian Sandifer, who is a homeschooling dad, has written a great post that’s a start in understanding some of my fundamental frustrations with homeschooling and homeschoolers.

Everyone acknowledges that the public school system in American needs reforming. It is producing graduates that are less and less prepared for the workforce, college, and the global marketplace. But the message went far beyond that. The speaker asserted that the public school system is working perfectly–just as it was designed to do. In other words, it’s not broken; it’s evil! In a perfect world it wouldn’t even exist. Public schooling was portrayed as useless, enslaving, stupifying, and monopolizing. The funny thing is that EVERYONE in the room (including the speaker) was educated in the public school system! (It didn’t seem to terribly fail us.) We were addressed as refugees and escapees of the system, as the only ones who are enlightened to the nature and purpose of REAL education. It occurs to me that the perceived problem framed in these terms amounts to a harmartiology.

Continue reading here.