Sunday, June 28
“ To be an Athenian is to understand that the thread which holds civilized society together is thin and vulnerable; therefore, Athenians place great value on tradition, social restraint, and continuity. To an Athenian, bad manners are acts of violence against the social order. The modern Visigoth cares very little about any of this. The Visigoths think of themselves as the center of the universe. Tradition exists for their own convenience, good manners are an affectation and a burden, and history is merely what is in yesterday’s newspaper.
• From the commencement speech written by Neil Postman in case he were asked to give one. That such an invitation never came might be considered an indictment of education in America but that would overstate the importance of commencement speeches. Many are desultory. Postman wrote several good books. The two that have stayed with me the most are The End of Education and Amusing Ourselves to Death.
