An open letter: Cynicism and Mount Olympus
From: a ray of son.
The students in universities and colleges of most Western developed
countries today come from a cross-section of the world's cultures,
traditions and values. This, however, is not reflected in either the
institution's content and delivery of the subjects or the services.
This kind of ethnocentrism, as our guiding principle, continues
today with the Vatican's recent Decree on Ecumenism, "the Prefect of
the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith" (Globe and Mail, The
Roman Catholic Church: Holier than thou, J. Manning, Wed., Sept. 13,
2000) where the Catholic Church states that they are the only true
religion. These institutions and systems are obviously blindly
designed to perpetuate the culture and values of its origin.
As undergraduates and graduates of several post-secondary
institutions in Canada, Laurentian University specifically, cynicism
sometimes is our
healthiest outlet. We herein exercise that freedom. In reference to
an ancient Greek analogy, Oedipus still leads the way. The tenured
gods of academia, who live on Mount Olympus, Laurentian University,
stand untouchable.
In their isolation from, and superiority, in both attitude and
altitude, to the citizens of Sudbury, these gods never intend to
invite Mankind for tea. Immortal, these gods wield rhetorical
lightning bolts and waft Medusa-like discourse at mortals. What do
we, mere humans, students, know of these gods and their games?
The humane treatment of citizens is not a consideration worthy of
gods! Or is it? Should it be? History tells us that the human
element surely does not apply to those from Mount Olympus. Zeus and
his council of gods look down upon the simpletons they manipulate,
segregate, and degrade with detachment from the R. D. Parker
Building, Laurentian University's Ivory Tower.
In addition to being a mining town on the edge of a solid
continental block, some of Sudbury's institutions are as
hard-hearted as the city's bedrock, as slow in forward movement as
the Canadian Shield. The glacial speed of adaptation and the
coldness of these systems in their treatment of students dehumanizes
the citizens no more than it demonizes the gods.
In the pursuit of fiscal responsibility, the human element is rarely
found in this equation. It is no surprise that academic institutions
of "higher" learning are, in fact, in the business of money, not
education. Our religious offerings of tuition to these gods and
their demi-gods (the administrators of Mount Olympus) surely are of
some worth, beyond that of a piece of paper. Or are they? Toilette
paper, after all, is paper as well. The great Oracles of Queen's
Park and Ottawa support these isolated systems of arbitrary
hierarchy. Like benevolent despot-dictators, the gods keep changing
the rules, developing loopholes, disclaimers, and self-proclaimed -
self-programmed - guardians to meet their needs,
demanding more in the form of offerings each year.
Accountability, together with fiscal responsibility, lead these gods
to fear life outside their predestined pecking order. Some immortals
claim to be: naïve, naively arrogant, arrogantly naïve, or
negligent. This claim strengthens their rank and position on Mount
Olympus.
In contrast, there is a second group of immortals who sincerely do
what they can to assist mortals in their humanity. Those who do,
know who they are. Sadly, there are others who know of this
injustice, may not act upon it, wishing they could, and are left
feeling helpless. Through passive collaboration we maintain their
rule of silence.
Therefore, we must brake the silence, remove the blinders and call
for Humanity on Mount Olympus. Here are your choices: 1) you can
quietly perpetuate an exclusive sterile society without cultural
diversity; or 2) you can invite other cultures and ways to join and
create a future that reflects
society, one where inter-cultural lifestyles are accepted and
educational needs are met.
©WRM
