Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 21 - USM Forum -- Message Board

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TOPIC: Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 21

Mr. Wonderful

Date: Nov 21, 2004

Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 21	Permalink Closed

So many good posts, so little space. In order to keep this morning's Citation de la Semaine presentation to managable size, the selection committee decided to limit today's awards to those encompassing one theme which seemed to permeate the message board during the past week: Materialism and academic values. This morning's awards ceremony reflects a rejection of the philosophy that worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in in an academic environment and in life. HONORABLE MENTIONS: 1. Stephen Judd: ". . . the creation of wealth . . . to cite that as THE primary mission of a university (not 'preservation and accumulation of knowledge;' and not 'contributions to intellectual and cultural development' for instance) -- is a seriously flawed analysis . . . we are living in a culture where we are only step away from every human being's 'worth' being defined by their capacity as a part of the 'economic development' engine. I'm not sure how caregivers, philosophers or priests will fare here - let alone artists, teachers, and scholars." 2. LVN: "It is very hard to get students to see that they are in college for something besides a bigger paycheck - maybe for a bigger life?" 3. Scientist: "I recently heard a scientist at USM state, 'Einstein would never be able to get tenure at USM with the current 'value' system.' What a condemnation of the current philosophy!" 4. The Shadow: "The irony is that most USM students need real education to succeed in the marketplace because they tend to come from poor or working class families. They need language and writing skills to compete with students from middle class backgrounds. They need to learn to think abstractly if they are to become professionals. They need a basic understanding of history and exposure to the arts and literature. In short, they need education not training. The same observations apply to the general population in Mississippi. Until education improves greatly, 'economic development' will be slow in coming." 5. Stephen Judd: "We are an academic community -- why are we even having this discussion?" Memory Loss: "Because we are losing our institutional memory. Our long-term memory is being neutered. Our short-term memory is all that remains. We must keep reminding ourselves of the essential academic values that make universities great think tanks." THIS WEEK'S WINNER: Jameela Lares for reminding us of these relevant passages from the book of Exodus: But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!" Pharaoh continued, "Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!" That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work by laid on them; when they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words." So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go and get straw yourselves. wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.' "So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw." And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharoah's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?' (Exodus 5.4-14). To that Old Testament quote, Jameela Lares added, "Apparently, we are being asked to make bricks without any more straw," following which Emma provided an additional commendary,, "Taskmasters called to task." Congratulations to all of today's recipients. AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE MR. WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION: Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday period, there will be no Citation de la Semaine award this week. The award presentation will occur on December 5. All postings between now and that date will, of course, be considered. Mr. Wonderful's #1 Groupie initially suggested that we do give an award next week, and that the award carry the theme of "TURKEYS." She pointed out that the selection committee would have no problem in identifying the turkeys, and that if the past reflects the future at least one turkey will surface this week. The committee considered and rejected that suggestion, but it does want to admonish all posters to watch out for the turkeys. In this strange academic enviornment in which we we live one may appear when you're least expecting it! Have a Mr. Wonderful Thanksgiving! __________________

foot soldier

Date: Nov 21, 2004

RE: Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 2	Permalink Closed

Thanks Mr. Wonderful and committee for making our Sundays more enjoyable. We'll miss you next week. Have a good holiday. __________________

Jameela Lares

Date: Nov 21, 2004

Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 21	Permalink Closed

Hey, thanks! (And thanks especially to God, the actual author or inspirer of the quotation.) I understand that Benjamin Franklin wanted to designate the turkey--which is a remarkably stupid fowl--as America's national bird, but was overruled in favor of the eagle. It looks as though we need to protest the same thing happening at USM. We're still the Golden Eagles, not the tin turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and don't let the turkeys get you down. Jameela __________________

Turkey Lurkey

Date: Nov 21, 2004

	Permalink Closed
Click:It's Hard To Soar With Eagles... __________________

LVN

Date: Nov 21, 2004

RE: Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 2	Permalink Closed

Well, I am honored and amazed, especially to be in the same Mention as Stephen Judd. Hey, look Who we lost to!! (To Whom we lost??) Happy Turkey Day, Mr. Wonderful and friends! __________________

Notable quotable

Date: Nov 21, 2004

RE: Mr. Wonderful's Citation de la Semaine: Nov. 21	Permalink Closed

"A turkey in every dome and two Cadillac Escalades in every garage" __________________

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