letters to editors

I have not found time to sit down and really write anything longer then a handful of sentences in a few weeks. Terrible, I know. I have chosen to blame summer, the heat, and work... why? Because well, everyone else seems to go the way of  the excuse(s) to rationalize their downfalls, hiccups, or missteps (regardless of how big or small they may be). 

Anyway, to continue my preachy and pompous post here is a letter written to an editor at The New York Post... and I think its brilliant, and by brilliant I mean completely and utterly basic and to the point. 

I've had my hate on lately for text messages, I'm not really sure why. 

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David Brooks is correct in his assessment of the current limitations of the use of technology to cultivate a deeper and more reflective wisdom and intellect.

As a college instructor of philosophy — a subject rooted in intellectual reflection — I find that my students have great difficulty in stepping back from the moment and concentrating on anything else but their next text message or other technologically induced instant connection. (Surely, many adults are suffering from similar afflictions.)

No, I am not a Luddite mourning the disappearance of the quill pen, but I believe that something has been lost in this current environment: the art of communication. Writing in other than e-mail or text message shorthand is an unwelcome burden for many students, and researching topics beyond Wikipedia snippets is a rare chore in which few indulge.

I hope that as our use of the latest technologies matures, we will all learn to use them more intelligently and effectively. Technology is a mighty tool with great possibilities, but, at present, it is often poorly used and serves more to stifle intellectual curiosity than to promote it.

Glenn Sklarin
New York, July 9, 2010