NevermindButwhatabout Notre Dame?

There has been a lot of "whataboutism" following the partial destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral.

"Whataboutism" tends to follow in the wake of just about any unfortunate event. It tends to take the form of tweets and Facebook posts along the lines of "Yeah that's bad, but what about this?" As if the human capacity for sorrow was finite, and mourning any one particular event necessitated ignoring all others. Rest assured, the minute any one of those events are discussed, someone will whatabout them as well.

The fires of Notre Dame weren't even out before folks went whatabouting for more worthy objects of our attention. I don't mean those trolls in the atheist community who've adapted philistinism in the name of secularism; I mean people who came up with very real, legitimate points. One tweeter exhorted us to remember the burnt churches of Louisiana as well. Another admonished Catholics for caring more about a building than the Church's sex-abuse scandals. We've been reminded that First Nations sacred places are routinely desecrated, and more than a few folk have wondered why billionaires, who've suddenly proven very generous, can't be as generous with people as they are with buildings.

All very true. Unquestionably, true. People are dying. We face ecological catastrophe. We have the power to solve many problems, and choose not to. It is true. It is inarguable that no Cathedral is worth more than a single human life, and it's more than fair to ask why billionaires can't fork out even a fraction of this kind of cash to alleviate human suffering as opposed to replacing bricks and mortar.
All true, incontrovertibly true.

And yet, and yet. . .

There will always be something more worthy, something more urgent, something unarguably more important.  Always and ever. And yet, if existence is to be anything more than mere survival, just living until dying, then allowances must be made for beauty. For curiosity. For wonder. If you compare it to your own life, there will always be something better you could be doing with your time, energy and money.  Ask yourself honestly how often you yourself have opted for Netflix over your long term goals. How often does entertainment beat our enlightenment? Socializing over professional development? You will admit - if you're human - more often than you'd like to admit. There will always be something better. And yet, would you really want to live a life that was nothing but work?

Societies and civilizations work much the same way. For most of human history - arguably, for ALL of human history up-to-and-including the present day - the time, energy and resources of humanity have been squandered disgracefully. Gross inequality, opulence in the midst of squalor, and gluttony in times of want have been the norm. Things are slightly better today, but still quite bad. There are mind-boggling array of seemingly insoluble problems needing to be solved.

Would you really though want to live in a world where we only solved problems? In which not an iota of human energy was spent making nice things - by which I mean, things with no inherent value besides being nice? In such a world, there would be no pyramids, no Stonehenge, no Taj-Mahal, no Sistine Chapel, no Eiffel Tower, no symphonies, no rock-albums, no Hamlet, no Game of Thrones. No music. No art. No movies. Would you choose to live in such a world?

Perhaps you would. Maybe you'd be right. But I don't think I would.

People will always seek to create beauty, and things which will outlast them. When they succeed, they are celebrated. Dynamiting ancient statues of Buddha was not the Taliban's worst crime. But it showed a world-view that didn't allow for beauty or wonder. It was no surprise that people who made no allowances for human desire will care nothing for human life.

So, just as we recoil when vandals smash stained-glass windows or project vomit onto priceless paintings, we mourn the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral. It does not mean we care for more important things any less.

Even if you don't believe. . .come on, that's pretty cool!

A lot of people seem to really have it in for teachers. Possibly they were made to stay in for recess one too many times. Perhaps they had a substitute in Kindergarten who scarred them for life. Maybe they resented all that homework. Maybe they were just shitty students and resented being reminded of the fact. Whatever the case, they can't stand teachers, don't respect their expertise, don't see their value to society, think they make too much money (oddly while admiring multi-billionaires) and resent their vacations. These people exist, and there will always be politicians willing to indulge them.

Cue Doug Ford, whom I suspect was not a particularly great student. A little while ago we discussed Ford's plans to introduce a math test for teachers. While it is rather galling to be given a math test by someone who hasn't taken a math test in forty years. . .whatever. It's one more hoop in a job full of hoops. Now I hear they want to make it an annual test.

They can go fuck themselves. 

If I occasionally have to prove my competence in a subject I'm teaching, fair enough. But if I have to waste time studying for a test outside my field, year after year because they don't trust me to remember anything. . .forget it. This is not about competence.

This a game of "gotchya!" If they didn't catch you last time, they want to catch you next time. They want to keep trying until they can catch you stumbling in an area outside your expertise. Keep trying until they can get you on an off-day, after a misread or a brain-fart. 

This has nothing to do with helping kids, but entirely about punishing teachers. The message is simple:
 
        We don't trust you.
        We don't value you.
        We don't value your contribution.
        We don't value your skills.
        We don't value your field.
        We're going to keep trying 'till we're rid of you.

Value and values are the big things here. These philistines don't value the arts or humanities, or indeed anything that can't immediately be monetized, and are trying to delegitimize it with punitive tests. I can't help noticing that math teachers won't be taking literacy tests, or IT instructors history (itself only worthwhile for instilling nationalism).

This is an attempt to belittle noble professions and fields, by boors who don't get them. Having my competence questioned questioned by these knuckle dragging troglodytes is particularly galling. This drug-dealing college drop-out wants to test ME on an accademic issue?

I'll take their test when they come and take mine. How well would you do on Grade 11 College Prep English Mr. Ford? How well DID you do?

(And in case you think I'm libelling:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/toronto-deputy-mayor-doug-ford-robs-brother-former-hash-dealer/314893/)