The Beat of a Different Drummer, Part 5

If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.
Henry David Thoreau, July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862,
 was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, sage writer and philosopher. He is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state.

…We have valued grades and scores more than learning. We have forgotten to teach you that all understanding begins with wonder and with following unexpected discovery in unknown directions. We have tried to stomp the wonder out of you by getting you to choose a track and stick with it. We have asked you to excel in every endeavor and to avoid anything that might diminish your record of excellence. When we rewarded you only for following all of our rules and not for making any of your own, we did more to close your minds than to open them. … I am sorry that we have taught you to value economic success over passionate engagement with your work. …  http://www.theroot.com/id/46623
Melissa Harris-Lacewell

If you were to combine the two quotations above, what would you conclude?  That we have taken the “different drummer” out of the classroom?

Let us continue our respite from talking about problems by talking about solutions.  Here is another story from Tactics of Hope:  

It may sound strange to say, but Katrina actually accelerated our understanding of what could be accomplished by local entrepreneurs in Louisiana .  I [Tim Williamson] as called into the state capital, Baton Rouge , and met with the Southern Women’s Action Network (SWAN), right after coming home from the storm.  With $100,000 and a firm blessing from SWAN, we took to the streets, searching for, identifying, and rewarding female entrepreneurs who were starting up business again.  There was so much rubble and decay… .  We all felt tattered, distraught and isolated from the rest of the country.  Yet here was reason for extreme faith that we would resurrect urban life again.  It came not from the government, but from the streets, the local entrepreneurs.  One by one we found individuals who were giving reason for life, to begin again.  

Creative destruction as an economic force is sometimes too difficult for people to internalize when they have lost so much, especially when the government has done so little to revitalize the well-being of families, neighborhoods and entire cities. ... I became witness to an incredible display of hope not covered by the news.  As I walked the streets still covered in the brown crust of floodwater, I found incredible displays of entrepreneurship, individuals who with pride and dignity were starting and reviving their businesses. ...  

We raised $500,000 in those early months after the storm.  We called it the Pay-It-Forward fund, lending start-up capital to individuals, who after succeeding with their business would repay the loan forward for the next entrepreneur to benefit from.  The funds came from outside donors and investors who believed in and trusted us.  Investors weren’t sure where their funds would go if they gave to the government, considering FEMA’s lackluster and uncoordinated strategies. ...

October 9, 2008