in care of The Sentinel.

Holland Sentinel - 10/14/2021 Page : A06

Your turn
Tim Pennings
Guest Columnist

Long live liberal arts LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Stop pandering to Trump and start solving mar
Introductions first: problems fire,
I met Andrew while waiting for a stalled train by gas
Hope College. I asked him the dinner question I have So now the Michigan Legislature is proposing to pati
asked such Hope seniors for 30 years: How are you a ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools. cent
different person now than when you arrived at Hope Such a law would be in direct violation of the First W
College? I have heard many thoughtful answers, but Amendment, you know, the pesky one that protects ing,
his brought a lump to my throat: “Professor Ortiz freedom of speech. I taught for over 40 years. I would trum
taught me how to see beauty. He showed me how to never have tolerated any outside person or body tell- loud
slow down when I read Augustine’s “City of God” and ing me what I could or could not say in my classes. are
appreciate the beauty.” How do we expect young people to learn to think and chee
I can’t think of a better testimony to the liberal arts evaluate issues if we restrict what is presented in for s
— disciplines meant to liberate the mind. their classes? and
Meet Yamir — my 18-year-old Hispanic house- Just about 100 years ago, the Tennessee Legisla- with
mate who responded to my Craigslist room-for-rent ture banned the teaching of evolution in schools. I If
ad. Yamir recently graduated from high school in Tul- doubt they understood that theory any better than to- find
sa, Oklahoma, and is seeking a way to get a college day’s Michigan legislators understand CRT. I don’t supp
degree in psychology. He brought two suitcases with claim to have more than a rudimentary grasp of it, but busi
him — the larger one filled with favorite novels. He I do understand that educators have to be free to do —
recently received an Amazon package: “The Best Po- their jobs. People whose MAGA hats fit too tightly
ems of the English Language” and a favorite epic have seized on another yelling point from Fox News. The
DVD: “Ben Hur.” We take turns showing our favorites. This is another example of a Republican legislature
Last evening, he had the privilege of watching “Ca- trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. CRT isn’t S
sablanca” for the first time. Unlike most of his gener- even taught in elementary and high schools. one
ation, he watches movies without his phone on his Republicans nationwide are also passing laws to cally
lap. In our subsequent discussion, he stumped me, deal with voter fraud, which they allege was common to th
“If Lazlo had to choose between his wife and his in the 2020 election. There has been no evidence un- Misr
cause, which would he choose? (If you haven’t yet covered anywhere to support that claim. Even a Re- nati
seen “Casablanca” put it on your bucket list.) publican committee in the Michigan Legislature has the v
Yamir loves the liberal arts. expressed confidence in the security of our elections. men
Let me introduce you to “Floor Fienz Family.” If you What the party is really trying to do is make it more “the
frequent Holland’s summer Street Performers, you difficult for people who might vote for Democrats to and
have likely seen them. They are the break-dancers vote. tegr
who draw the overflowing crowds and represent Hol- There are difficult issues confronting us. CRT and T
land as they travel the country. Break dancing is the voter fraud aren’t on that list. The legislature needs to nece
improv “jazz” version of dance. Mastering their art stop pandering to Donald Trump and get to work for thes
requires athleticism, appreciation of music and the people of Michigan . follo
dance, understanding of the body, engagement with — Albert Bell, Holland Igno
the audience, and tenacious practice. Hope College fend
should sponsor a joint Hope — Floor Fienz dance con- Work to live not the other way around In
cert. Spanning cultures, it would be the very best of havi
the liberal arts. Regarding the most recent jobs report issued by the gan’
I don’t know his name, but this past weekend I got Bureau of Labor Statistics, I have to say I just don't get Mich
into a conversation with a 26-year-old skateboarder the uproar and hand-wringing regarding the "work- eme
at Smallenburg Park who was jumping OVER picnic force participation" number. offic
tables on his board. Except for a couple missing All the enhanced unemployment benefits have polic
teeth, he was unscathed from his years of practice. ceased and anyone who wants a job can get one. De- racia
No money. No medals. No audience. Just the thrill of spite what right wing media tells people, there is no the i
perfecting his leaping much as Jonathan Livingston massive welfare mechanism propping up legions of fess
Seagull perfected his flying. He may not know the slackers so they don’t have to go back to their jobs Dea
term, but he is a pure liberal artist — as pure as they washing dishes or whatever. I feel like it is just conser- they
come. As are those who paint the colorful murals on vatives looking for something to complain about. felon
railroad cars. As was the 10-year-old African Amer- If people aren't working in regular jobs — of which who
ican boy who coming out of a Hope College violin re- there are plenty — it is because they don't need to. to th
cital exclaimed, “That made my throat dance!” As are They have found some other way to make ends meet. P
my computer game-design students at Davenport That's a good thing. I mean, I really like my job, but I'm beca
University who — know it or not — are engaged in certainly not in the workforce for the fun of it. This rem
perhaps the newest form of artistry. weird puritan holdover that says humans must do unva
Of course, there is also value in studying the liber- some kind of job — no matter how crummy or de- emp
al arts. When I give math talks in high schools, I ex- meaning — to have worth as a person makes no sense cond
plain that one can get a great education and learn at all. shot
about life by traveling, or getting a job, or joining the Work to live not the other way around. —
military, or, for that matter, living on the street. But Currently, unemployment is at 4.8 percent, stock
one can only learn the greatest things ever discov-
ered by the human mind via study of the liberal arts.
More broadly, a life is enriched by engaging in
what Bertrand Russell sarcastically termed “useless
knowledge.” In his essay, “In Praise of Idleness” Rus-
sell argued that during World War II, England devot-
ed half of its energy to the war and still produced
enough for all to live. So he suggested a 20-hour work
week for all with the balance devoted to living rich
lives. Something to ponder.
—Community Columnist Tim Pennings is a resi-
dent of Holland and can be contacted at timothy.pen-
nings@gmail.com. Previous columns can be found at
timothypennings.blogspot.com.
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