Are you unmanageably educated?

@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
July 31, 2019 6:19am CST
Back in 1849 there was a heated debate in the UK Parliament about the wisdom of introducing public libraries that were publicly funded and free of charge for all users. One Conservative MP argued that "People have too much knowledge already. It was much easier to manage them 20 years ago; the more education people get the more difficult they are to manage". I have worked in libraries for more than 40 years and currently help to run the public library in the photo. It would appear that I am a dangerous agent for the forces of revolutionary anarchy!
9 people like this
7 responses
Anna
@LadyDuck (502187)
• Italy
31 Jul 19
I fear that I would be considered dangerous in this case and the fact that we interact and discuss put both of us in danger. Be careful.
1 person likes this
topffer
@topffer (42155)
• France
31 Jul 19
I rarely care about what are telling Conservative MPs, they usually row against the current of civilization.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (502187)
• Italy
31 Jul 19
@topffer I fully agree with you. We hear so many stupidities in our days.
1 person likes this
John Welford
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
31 Jul 19
@topffer This was back in 1849 - even Conservatives don't take that line these days!
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Jul 19
Witchcraft is alive and well in parts of Africa because the people are uneducated. That looks a really nice library.
1 person likes this
John Welford
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
31 Jul 19
It is quite a new building and it is well patronized. For the past three-and-a-half years it has been run by volunteers, and my job is to recruit the volunteers and keep the rota filled.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Aug 19
@indexer That sounds quite an involved task. Sometimes volunteers feel it's okay to come and go as convenient without perhaps a lot of thought as to the difficulties it causes for the 'overseer'.
John Welford
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
5 Aug 19
@JudyEv It is certainly a challenge! My main problem is having a group of people who started out by saying "we must preserve this valuable facility for our village" but not actually doing anything to make that come about. Volunteers who don't volunteer are the bane of my life!
1 person likes this
Val
@valmnz (17095)
• New Zealand
2 Aug 19
I enjoyed reading this as I've recently been reading some newspaper articles / letters to the editor of early New Zealand newspapers from the 1900s expressing much the same sentiment.
1 person likes this
Val
@valmnz (17095)
• New Zealand
2 Aug 19
@indexer as one corrspondent to the newspaper once put it here, they're educating people beyond their station in life!
John Welford
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
2 Aug 19
One can just imagine all the grave-rolling that is going on across the world now that social media has taken over!
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
31 Jul 19
Our current situation in the US proves the truth of what the Conservative PM said, only the problem isn't what people know, it's what they believe that isn't true.
1 person likes this
John Welford
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
31 Jul 19
You are absolutely right. In the absence of confirmed truth, what is believed is the dominant force. Shifting an ingrained belief is often far more difficult than correcting a factual error.
1 person likes this
RasmaSandra
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
1 Aug 19
What utter nonsense. I am all for learning more and never stopping. The more I know I think makes me a more interesting person. I love the look of your library it looks very inviting.
Evans
@evans777 (1540)
•
31 Jul 19
Looking at myself, i think if I were, I would be a sarcastic prick
Oshy
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
31 Jul 19
I think most of the world do not know what is truly going on and that we are all managed yes. And do not know what is coming either.