August 20, 2004
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Well…things are really getting exciting with the book. I think since I’m approaching my own personal deadline, I’m realizing how many more things I want to say, so I’m freeing myself up to just say anything. And that’s the beauty of this project. There’s nobody to tell me what’s right or not except me. There’s no word limit, and I’m not writing this for a grade.
I’m not delving into politics, but I’m starting to write about how irrelevant politics is to the average person, more than the avg. person actually, because we don’t live in a society where change is possible. Bush. Kerry. I’m not talking about that. We live in a society where we go to school till we’re 17, then most feel obligated to go to school till they’re 22, then most have to start from scratch as 22 year olds with no real life experience, then most feel it’s time to settle down. After that, you’re no longer really part of the equation of making a difference anymore, in the sense of dedicating yourself to a cause, becuase you have other causes, family, career, bills, and retirement to look forward to.
What will hopefully create a society that can make things happen, is to free up those 4 years that up until now have put thousands of 18-22 year olds inside a classroom. Free them up to get involved in the adult world, to learn, to explore, to have adventures, to begin to make a difference. This way, by the time they’re 22, they’re already heading into their adult/working lives with wind in their sails, and then we will have a society that we might truly be proud of.
Comments (2)
hey dan! sorry i haven’t been commenting recently, i’ve been really busy. i’ve really been thinking a lot about exactly what you’re talking about. i really want to change the world. i know that’s kind of vague but i do want it. and i don’t want to wait until i’m older, either. i want to change it now. i want to write a book that will change the way people think or at least make them think at all. but i feel like even in the summer, i’m bogged down with work
i’m very excited about reading your book
I am one of those who “settled down” soon after 22, and now find myself at 35 feeling like I’m “no longer part of the equation.” I never was, because as you say, when I was younger I was in school, and the thought of changing the world never occured to me until I had children of my own and realized I didn’t like the world they have to live in. When it was just me, I didn’t realize the world could be any other way. They teach you that in school — that the goal is to settle down, get a job, and begin acquiring “stuff.”
Part of me often wishes I could go back and do things differently. Another part is grateful for my children who have opened my eyes to the beauty and possibility of the world. As one who is “no longer part of the equation,” in the sense that I’ve lost those early years of my own, I have found homeschooling to be an exciting way to begin changing the world I live in. It shows that you don’t have to wait until the college years to find the freedom to change things. If things go as I hope, my children will have that freedom as soon as they are ready for it. They are beginning in freedom. I think perhaps even 18 may often be too late for awakening from the slumber that is American education.