Few things condense as much nonsense into a space and stretch of time as the modern university experience. This is enough for some to call for people to ‘drop out’ before ever dropping in—it is often the case that one extreme is not solved by the other extreme: dating one unworthy girl doesn’t thereby mean it’s time to don a MGTOW armor set, and yet we hear, in droves, from those selling you something, that college is a gigantic waste of money, time, and life. The arguments given from the other end, in the form of school counselors, parents, and administrative mercenaries peddling usury, via outrageous student loans to less than stellar—not even flagship—state schools, we should admit, are their own form of idiocy, and best ignored nearly wholesale. America is haunted by the lone wolves, the solo cowboy gunslingers, the James Dean rebel without a cause: this archetype offers freedom and instead gives more chains and limitations—to be a ‘free spirit’ is not to reject a person or a thing or a way of life in reaction to a set of conditions or causes, but is to derive one’s sense of judgment from an interior methodology, or way of thinking about the world. If a band is good, then it is good even if X person you hate loves them, or if Y media institution writes a scathing hit piece: the only thing that matters is what you think—does it align with your own values? This is what we will explore, in the greater context of this media publication. We can dispense with the inanities now, and get into the details, where real luxury always resides.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Good Propaganda to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.