The average person comes in contact with 80,000 people in a lifetime or more depending on an occupation. Whether it’s with objects, animals or each other, humans are forced to rely on interaction for survival. In his article “Only Connect…”, William Cronon touches on what it means to be liberally educated. In the simplest terms, liberally educated people are those who apply the values of their education to their lifestyle. Cronon states that a liberal education is useless if “we forget that its purpose is to nurture human freedom and growth”. That is not only because humans are social at heart, but because their ideas can combine to create something completely new. Furthermore, he implores that “in the act of making us free, [knowledge] also binds us to the communities that gave us our freedom in the first place”. I believe that this is a true statement because people owe it to the community that raised them, to aid them in our “progressive movement”. This paradox surfaces the unanswered question of how liberal education can be binding and whether we should really be bound to society or to ourselves.
Individuals are known to confuse knowledge with being able to do whatever they want because they have the mindset to do so. However, people fail to realize that liberally educated people have the wisdom and the ability to benefit others who cant do it themselves. “With great power comes great responsibility”. Cronon emphasizes this as he states that humans have an obligation to their communities. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to connect with others and share the skills that progresses into a lifestyle. Without going back and teaching communities how to connect, there is no purpose in having a liberal arts education. As a liberally educated person, if one does not feel the urge to relay their knowledge and connect with the environment around them, one is simply “educated”. Being “educated” is being bound to self, whereas being liberally educated is being bound to others and the development of the community. When said to have an education, it is not about making connections with others but is instead about learning how to survive in a “money-hungry” society. This mindset only benefits one person. People who are given the opportunity to be educated have a greater advantage in society as it opens opportunities for jobs and being able to survive in a world where communications are essential for success. Knowledge provides options, and if that knowledge is shared, societies have the chance to grow and prosper together.
As stated by Cronan, this is the ultimate love: Bridging the gap between the freedom of knowledge and community. There’s no better way to give back to society than by teaching it how to work with one another to advance to a new level of thinking. It’s not just about acquiring information but about making it a lifestyle. By helping others grow, liberally educated people continue to grow as well. That is the mindset of a liberally educated individual.
Completely Me 