I have to admit - I find human nature endlessly fascinating. Often, I write blog posts that I am certain will offend everyone who happens to read them. More often than not, the comments I receive on my most "shocking" posts are nothing short of positive. And then, out of the blue, I will receive a scathing, hate-filled comment on a post that I thought was completely benign. Go figure!
Recently, I wrote about Master Hand Grenade returning to the nest. I wrote of his achievements and how proud Sir Knight and I were that he was not only well thought of but that he had the wisdom to discern between the wheat and the chaff of life. Pretty unobtrusive, huh? Well, apparently not. In response to that post, I received the following comment (anonymously, of course). I chose not to publish it on the post, but rather save it for another day.
Why don't you get Mr. Dumb Ass, er, I mean, Mr. Hand Grenade into a college so that Mr. H.G. won't be yet another loser walking around armed waiting to go postal when the world, which he is not prepared for, overwhelms him and he realizes that he is a working class cog and will never get ahead or have anything on a butchers wages.
Stupid asses.
Wow! So much hatred in such a small package. The night this comment came through, I began praying for the writer. I woke up praying for them the next morning, as well. You can be sure that I will continue to pray. I am certain that whomever wrote that comment hates themselves. With a passion.
Anyway, I digress. The comment made me think of a blog post that I had read recently, that summed up my personal thoughts regarding higher education. The writer, Matt Walsh, made more than enough valid points to make any parent (or child, for that matter) rethink their higher education position. He said:
Hi kids! Hey, let’s discuss college! Actually, this is not a discussion. You WILL go. You MUST go. Only lazy, dirty losers don’t go to college. You aren’t a lazy, dirty loser, are you? ARE YOU?
Good. I didn’t think so.
This week, the President has been making his pitch to “fundamentally rethink and reshape” the higher education system, and so the conversation has once again turned to the importance of cramming as many warm bodies as possible into colleges and universities — at any expense to themselves, their parents, and the taxpayers. Over 70 percent of college students are already on some form of federal aid, and damned if we can’t get that number to an even 100 percent. Meanwhile, outstanding student loan debt has long since surpassed a trillion dollars with no signs of slowing down. If you had a math degree you’d know that a trillion dollars is, like, a lot.
You see, kids, as executives at the academic and banking institutions make billions from this setup, a bunch of 20-something’s with no assets, little to no income, and no work experience, are left with an accrued debt many times higher than the GDP of a small European nation. Millions of college graduates haven’t been able to find a job, with even more either moving back in with their parents or refusing to leave the nest in the first place. We are now faced with legions of young adults who have sacrificed their financial future — and whittled away several years of potential life and work experience — all for the sake of a piece of paper and a severely damaged liver.
Clearly there just isn’t any conceivable reason why any rational person would want to miss out on all of this!
That is just the beginning. To read his entire post, click here - it will be worth your time.
And so, we will be encouraging Master Hand Grenade to pursue his desired career path. We will encourage him to value a good name over riches and wisdom over status. We will be thankful that he is growing in favor with God and men. But mostly, we will be praying for the unhappy writer of that comment. God has plans for him, too.
