THE facts answer
by John waters

How the whirlwind of
progress blows away Truth
In new school programs, studies in  History give way to the Internet. What will the future hold if we completely nullify our tradition?

At the core of the progress project that propels modern man is a nexus of ideology that remains invisible, inaudible, subject to denial. The things that happen, generally speaking, appear to happen naturally, or for the best of reasons, and are therefore difficult to question. The point of progress, after all, is the fulfillment of human happiness, and who could be opposed to that?
 It is difficult to describe these phenomena without sounding paranoid. And yet, all the time, our cultures are changed by them and not necessarily for the better. The scale of progress is undeniable, but happiness does not appear to unfold on a proportionate basis. Still, nobody seems to be measuring, or even noting this. To do so would be defined by the governing ideology as a reactionary activity, motivated by sentimentality or ignorance or nostalgia. Thus do our cultures provide alibis and covering fire for their drift, as organisms develop skins to protect themselves from predators and the elements.
 In the UK, I read, a new primary school curriculum abolishes the need to study the Victorian period or World War II, and increases the emphasis on Internet and computer skills. British children will be taught to blog and to operate a spellcheck, but will learn less about the role of their nation in the world.
 This may appear to be a minor sign, but it brings to mind a book by Robert Bly, The Sibling Society, a devastating portrait of cultures obsessed by youth, and suspicious of forms of authority that might seek to deprive youth of its “freedoms.” Bly outlines how our cultures now routinely destroy the heritage of what he calls “vertical” culture—history, tradition, religion—in favor of the “horizontal” culture of the present: pop music, movies, television, Internet, podcasts, etc.
 There are many complex forces at work in this. To facilitate these changes, it has been necessary to designate certain activities as antiquated, obsolete, and others as vibrant and essential. It has also been necessary to communicate this classification, discreetly and discretely, to each and every heart and mind, so that no compulsion is required. Our cultures now execute such functions automatically, without having to state their intentions. The resulting “progress” renders this easier as it goes, of course, since the destruction of the vertical eliminates any sense of continuity that might serve to alert humanity to what it is doing to itself.
 All the time, the organism of culture shifts and heaves, trapping us in the present, cutting us off from the channels of wisdom that might caution against the blandishments of the market and the brands of freedom it offers.
 All this seems random, accidental, and yet its drift is assured and steady. The whirlwind of progress rarely relents or pauses, but presses on as though possessing a mind of its own. There is no one to blame or praise.