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I always confuse boors with boers … varieties of bores … destructive … society … boars
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They all seem to be strongly authoritarian, don't they. The problem is what foundation they use to construct the authority.
That could also be ambiguous; authority (the word) could signify
• a person or a governmental body
• the power such a body may wield
• the sound basis for promoting a technique or idea
but in the cases you brought up, the foundation is not Godly. Perhaps I could propose a test? The idea is not original that even strongly conservative upbringings may encourage respect equally for manufacturers, businessmen, artists
and professors. All are important and in their own ways, authorities on their subject. For example a manufacturer would know the best way to make a bicycle that didn't fall to pieces when you sat on it. The arts permit emotions to be recorded. Academics generally understand art quite well even though it's not a primary focus of their studies. Or even a focus at all. Here are some examples.
The manufacturer knows how a bicycle works. The first time I tried riding one, aged 5 or 6, I twirled the pedals as fast as I could to stop falling down and went straight into a holly bush. It was a nice distance away, I got there on a good accelerating arc across some lawn and made certain I'd exclude that outcome in future. Frippery like "trainer wheels" are forbidden in truly conservative learning environments because they detract from the single authority: a questioning mind and (in this case) its reflection on how to avoid holly bushes. (And, obviously, not telling anyone you'd wrecked their shrub.)
The thing was very similar to the above design because manufacturers worked all this out 200 years ago and started updating almost at once. The current formula was arrived at early on and even modern racing cycles are essentially the same. Apart from weirdos who want the pedals above their head and you can't see them on the road because they're so low down.
The businessman is also required for society to function. Sure, he could swan around with a whip or an electric cattle prod giving you a jab now and then – but that is not a good business model. Places taking it up go straight down the gurgler but, in response to feelings of outrage, perhaps involving social engineering policies or perceptions of disenfranchisement compared to the champagne set, an appeal to authoritarianism may be triggered.
The picture records how businessmen see bicycles: they don't need to go anywhere necessarily if they can charge an extra $5K for the privilege – and stretchy attire can easily double that figure, teamed up with shades and ridiculously overpriced footwear. There's even a microphone included for some reason (extra $500 probably) but really all this is marketing. The manufacturer needs that of course, just as raw materials are needed: scandium, titanium, rubber & whatever seats are made out of. Businessmen provide the mines, smelters and tube mills for that, using a viable business plan and sound investment strategies to ensure a good return on their portfolio. It's profitable because it increases internal efficiencies, cycling requiring less time than walking in most cases.
Learning in a conservative environment requires an understanding of the value of art. Quite apart from music and poetry, combined into hymns to express one's love for The Lord for instance, the graphic arts have been used across millennia for satire, beauty, evoking calm or justified anger – without which societies are impoverished. Knowing what can be achieved enables one to discern when the arts are being misused. Communism is a hackneyed example perhaps but a well-known one. I don't need to show socialist realism, you don't even need to know what it is! for images of commie whack jobs to spring to mind. Molotov staring boldly into the [invisible] future; unpleasant statues depicting heroism of the proletariat; murals celebrating the university of tractor wheels. Post hypnotic suggestions masquerading as poetry slams or national anthems. Societies forcing that sort of stuff, often with harsh sanctions for exploring other artistic avenues, are most politely described as klunkkers.
Art is able to record that, to remind people that
yes, something IS wrong with society - despite what you're told, just as much for future generations to know what it was like. The art of King Tut remains and shows us something of what that society was like. Which brings us to the last section.
The word "professor" has widely varying meanings in different places, as does the word "conservative" but education is more universally understood which is why I've combined the two here. The picture shows one combining art and manufacturing with a novel solution. He's unlikely to get much funding from the businessman though.
The same mathematics used to construct the "road" has other applications. Vinyl records work on a similar principle and our professor could probably devise a wheel requiring braille-style digital surfaces, maybe applying laser technology. The businessman would like less costs in bicycle manufacture, and that could be achieved too perhaps using mathematical programming at the tube mill. When I looked up what bicycles are made from though, and having checked the price of "cycling attire" (other than what the gentleman's wearing
[vermillion section] except his shoes which run well into the 4 figures) well, the businessman and the manufacturer are clearly running different paradigms. Balanced out though by the other two, so overall a healthy society ensues.
When balance is disrupted, tyranny becomes possible. Individuals are triggered and a new language develops, expressing new concepts not everyone agrees with. Is such a language emerging? The domino effect is always rapid in those cases. I hope Lot469 returns, it's a fertile field and there's much we could discuss.
In Christ.