ELITISM
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
♥ Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I had a discussion today and i made a somewhat 'unconvincing remark' on the privilege of being in law school..so i will expound on that, and convince, if no one, myself at least that there is no place one could possibly want to be in.
What is it you look for in a profession? Lets talk nobility. The place where you can evoke change, the one position that allows you to make the world a better place...this is the throne of the politics, the niche of the lawyer. Where a comma breaks a sentence, and a fullstop completes it. Where 'and' and 'but' gives meaning to the millions of people under the law, and any addition or removal of particular words changes mentality and attitudes. Take the recent s 377A debate for example: a matter of words, governed by a few people, who chooses whether those words stay or those words go, and the rest are bound to those words. So the question is, who are these people that governs these words? THe public?? No. Neither sociologists, nor engineers nor teachers, nor psychologists, nor historians. Its the lawyer. Unlikes the sociologist and the psychologist, he is the one at the forefront of the battle, the soldier at the frontline. He is the one whose word gives meaning to society, whose punctuation dictate how lives are going to be lived, whose arguments determine whether a person's rights stay, or leave.
Let's talk about the challenge of the education and the excitement that comes along with it. I cant speak much about the profession since i am not acquainted with it. However, lets evaluate a few courses, and lets compare. The engine course- well, if you like angles, maths, physics, calculation, this will be the perfect course for you. You become practical in an abstract sense. Everything comes down to a formula, and what goes into that formula must produce an answer that you expect. The engineer becomes the engineered- a mechanical robotic hint of a life unable to appreciate the abstract or the arts. They are people who things must make sense, who are governed by the laws of Newton, who are so entrenched into a life of digits and decimals, they become the proverbial 'square'. Only a select erudite few manages to grasp the more important things in life. What are these more important things? Haha go meet an engineer, you'll be able to figure out what are these things. Everything that doesnt interest him- those are it.
Lets look at the Science course- other than desmond and a few who aspire to be teachers, and maybe janice who's convicted about saving the environment, the rest are people who choose this course by a manner of elimination. Either they dont know what they want, or they cant be bothered, or simply, their results dont allow them to do anyhting else that sounds remotely interesting. The challenge of this course is well, hard to imagine. There are complexities and alot of things to remember, probably. I can imagine the people in this course have tonnes of activitiies elsewhere. Is it because the course fail to provide satisfaction? Or is it because the course is simply that- another course in a whole course of dealings, another eventuality void of meaning or purpose?
Let's look at the arts. Personally, if i wasnt doing this law course, i probably would have joint the arts course. This is the closest to what i deem as relevant to Life with a big 'L'. The life of society, the life of communities, the life of individuals, the life of Man. Anthropology, psychology, history, philosophy, geography, politics... It is the heart of society. It allows man to ask themselves how did they arrive, why they act and think the way they do. This is one of the most pertinent questions to be answered isnt it? But what about the challenge? I think the challenge and if any, excitement in handling this course is in the observation. The scrutiny on demographic trends, the peek into societal and economic dealings and the consequential shaping of mentalities. There is a certain fun in that, i can imagine. But like i said in the 2nd para, i rather be in the heat of it.
Now we can go on and on, but i'll just be pissing more people off. So to mitigate the situation let me just say this. That i am not saying that there is one more necessary profession, that there shouldnt be the existence of other courses or other faculties. I am just saying that there is a reason and a good enough one, to why people attach such prestige and elitism to law school and lawyers. I am saying that there is a reason why there is no where else i would rather be, and that although i am doing like shit in school, i am still motivated to be the best that i can be here.
I am also saying this, if you can do law, do it. No shit it is difficult, i mean i am a science student and not exactly the most articulate or erudite, BUT i think it makes a difference to your life, and way you think. I think you learn how to be a socialite, an intellectual, a competititor, a debater, a writer, a designer. I think you learn how to communicate and mediate. I think you learn how to be a man of principle and to fight for them, and to be willing to fall with your philosophies. I think you become influential and charismatic and i think you get a good peak, a bird's eye view of the human condition. I think in law school, you become a person who matter.
Law school. All the way.
