In a Unitarian, bi-monthly discussion group, nine, follow members, all in the 70 to 80 years of their lives, are invited to reflect upon and share personal stories, episodes and impressions that have defined their personal and professional experiences over the years. Recently, when my turn arrived, I struggled to put together a reasonably meaningful set of issues and decisions having to do with my youth as a Franco-American, but really, a bi-lingual, franco-canadien character with intense Quebec Catholic beliefs dating back to the Middle Ages (more later). Even in my teens, I was still barely beginning to feel somewhat at home in the mostly English-speaking, Protestant-dominated world of Lowell, Massachusetts. In this century-old mill-town, which was, then, facing the death throws of industrial collapse in the world of textiles, all the many immigrant groups -former operatives in the surrounding mills – were facing the need to quickly learn new technical skills like using machine operated tools, etc. Naturally, learning these skills would be facilitated if everyone focused on correctly using the English language, as the work-a-day means of communication. Gone were the decades when local businesses could survive running their enterprises within their individual ghettos and speaking the parlance of their grandparents from the old countrysides in Greece, Poland, Portugal, Ireland, etc. Yes, even the Franco-Americans needed to face this challenge, too. And, I was in this group.
My Presentation to the Group
I have been struggling with the topic of our next discussion for two or three weeks. Here, below, is the best that I can do.
When starting out studying science and engineering in 1957 at the Lowell Technological Institute (now, U-Mass-Lowell), never did I ask myself deep philosophical questions like:
“What are your career goals? How will you, Paul, help make the US of A the best neo-liberal, capitalistic democracy in the world? Will science make the whole world including the Evil Empire of Soviet Russia more peaceful, gentle, warm, loving and cooperative than it has ever been, even before the Greeks and the Romans?”
“How just and fair (even to native American Indians) is our present socioeconomic system of values and wealth distribution?” “How is it felt today in Lowell, Massachusetts by the major, poor, immigrant, uneducated groups living and working in the factories here?”
Later, I read Laurence Gross’s book entitled “The Course of Industrial Decline”, which describes, in detail, the grim developments around the textile mills in Lowell, MA from 1835 to 1955. It was not a pretty picture, as my dear departed sister, Denise, liked to say.
SEE: The Course of Industrial Decline
Basically, was industrial capitalism, which we deem as a wondrous American success story simply glorified exploitation of the poor and the indigent on a massive scale? Even as a ten-year-old child, this question haunted me although I never shared my personal anguish with friends or grown-ups. Maybe, it was understood that we don’t talk about this?
There were many topics of upper, classical education espoused in the previous 3,000 years of Western European civilization. Note that I never really asked the question whether or not other civilizations had any merit, at all , especially those which were not on my personal checklist of values or attributes to cherish and promote. For instance, I never considered looking into contributions made by Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese societies. Perhaps, we all start off in life with inherited prejudices?
Immediate goals were quite simple for me at that time. “Will a B.S. title attached to my French Canadian name of Bolduc, a local disadvantage, make me a salable and sought-after engineer-type of individual with a take-home annual salary high enough to eventually qualify for a government-guaranteed mortgage on a modest house?”
For nearly a century, sociologists like Durkheim, Weber and Marx had already studied the social and economic repercussions of industrial capitalism – alienation, anomie, etc. – on existing European values and civilizations, but in my naivete, I never began to consider the roads that I would need to travel in putting my narrow worldview to face the dizzying demands of the rapidly evolving electrical and mechanical juggernaut of the USA after WWII. The Cold War was in full swing!
Although, I enjoyed the challenges found in courses on physics, chemistry, calculus, analytical geometry, engineering, etc., my deep and profound
motivation was to “get the hell out of Lowell ASAP” by obtaining a recognized stamp of approval from a recognized educational center in science. The B.S. degree meant that I could hope for a decent life elsewhere, maybe. Also, my future professional salary might allow me to financially assist my mother and two sisters in times of need. Fortunately, my brother, Bob, seemed to be on his way already to a successful business in auto repairs, which was quite reassuring for me at the time.
Cold War Opportunities
Fortunately, the country was facing a life-and-death struggle with an arch enemy that also had a thermonuclear military arsenal. The other positive
bonus of working for the military-industrial complex – remember Eisenhower’s warning – was that America’s societal disagreements with the Soviets were seen to be long-lasting so that my engineering efforts might have a lifetime of financial payoffs for me and my family if, eventually, I might chose to have a wife, children and all the mortgages involved.
Again, my future, financial stability might allow me to help my mother and two sisters in the years ahead should dark clouds blacken their lives in Lowell-town. This last consideration played a very important role in my decision to immerse myself in a very demanding technological program at LTI . Also, since I was greatly aware that fighting Soviet Communism could best be done using high tech means, my involvement in this national effort showed a deep patriotic fervor on my part. I was proud to be a “Son of Liberty”. For me, at the time, the world was, indeed, embroiled in a battle of Good versus Evil where the West needed to come out the winner.
Imperfect Choices in an Imperfect Socioeconomic System of Flawed Values
Today, as I, happily, approach the end of this earthly trail with some highly valued, Unitarian-Universalist, UU, colleagues by my side, perhaps, it might be appropriate to underscore certain essential beliefs in my Credo set of beliefs, which may or may not be shared by all those around me.
1) The knowledge that I have obtained through the beneficial association with other scientific colleagues needs to be disseminated to all members of our society and, in particular, to the young generations that follow us. A solid STEM education should be required for any citizen that has a right to vote on life-and-death environmental issues, which affect all of our lives everyday.
We live in a world, which seemingly obeys the Laws of the Universe, including discoveries found in physical chemistry, quantum mechanics, evolution, thermodynamics, biological changes, and, yes, climate change, too. Along this trend of thinking, the following comment is quite fascinating. Scientists tell us that there was, once upon a time, a “Snowball Earth”. Imagine that!
As thinking beings, we ought to encourage everyone to happily engage his/her thinking gears everyday and, especially, when voting for a political candidate is the issue. “No to Denial” and “Yes to Knowledge”!
2) The other side of our humanity places us face to face with Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin on the musical scale plus, Hegel, Flaubert, Camus, Darwin, Goethe, Franklin, Jefferson, Einstein, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Charlie Chaplin, Rousseau, Marx, Engels, and many others, who are asking us what kind of society do we want to fully enjoy during our fragile human days on this planet?
Question for the Reader
Finally, we might ask: “What can you do today, or tomorrow, at the latest, to affect a positive change on our society’s vision or concept of the common good that might be motivated by a just, fair, open, inviting aspect to a New Democracy where the needs of people of all colors and skills get a fairer hearing in the marketplace?”