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Thought-provoking quote
11 years ago
General
I was browsing around the internet today and ran across this, a short essay by Colonel Jeff Cooper, a well-known and respected gun writer. I do not qualify by his criteria. A humbling thought.
Among the other signs of times we discover that coping is unfashionable. As far as I can tell, today's young people are taught not to handle problems but rather to call for help. This is very bad conditioning. As a boy, I led a privileged life, but I nonetheless often got into jams beyond reach of assistance. I never called for help, and my father would have sneered at me if had done so. At age seventeen while driving alone I blew a tire. I had never seen a wheel changed but I figured the matter out for myself. This is not to boast but only to point out that young men should be expected to cope.
The point is that a young man of 21 should be able to cope with the world around him in a general fashion. . . . Before a young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills at which he should be adept. These things should be available before a son leaves his father's household.
What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be ableto do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way. He should know the Federalist Papers and de Tocqueville, and he should know recent world history. If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future. A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well — such as is not covered in Driver's Ed. He should know how to fly a light airplane. He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy. He should be well qualified in armed combat, boxing, wrestling and judo, or its equivalent. He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background. He should be familiar with remedial medicine. These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father's household.
They do not constitute "a college education," which may or may not be a trade school.
— Jeff Cooper
Among the other signs of times we discover that coping is unfashionable. As far as I can tell, today's young people are taught not to handle problems but rather to call for help. This is very bad conditioning. As a boy, I led a privileged life, but I nonetheless often got into jams beyond reach of assistance. I never called for help, and my father would have sneered at me if had done so. At age seventeen while driving alone I blew a tire. I had never seen a wheel changed but I figured the matter out for myself. This is not to boast but only to point out that young men should be expected to cope.
The point is that a young man of 21 should be able to cope with the world around him in a general fashion. . . . Before a young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills at which he should be adept. These things should be available before a son leaves his father's household.
What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be ableto do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way. He should know the Federalist Papers and de Tocqueville, and he should know recent world history. If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future. A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well — such as is not covered in Driver's Ed. He should know how to fly a light airplane. He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy. He should be well qualified in armed combat, boxing, wrestling and judo, or its equivalent. He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background. He should be familiar with remedial medicine. These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father's household.
They do not constitute "a college education," which may or may not be a trade school.
— Jeff Cooper
