Pragmatism IS NOT an Aspiration

When I was in college, I had an education professor who was fond of saying, "Beware of doing what works."  At the time, I was extremely confused.  If something worked, why is heaven's name wouldn't I want to use it.  I thought she was a little nutty for a lot of reasons, and this just seemed like one more nutty thing to add to the list.  Now, I get it.  It was a warning against pragmatism.

Seven years ago, I was listening to President Obama staunchly defending himself against the charge that he was an ideologue.  He was clearly upset about it and insisted (as did his supporters) that he was a pragmatist.  I remember thinking at the time that I would have more respect for him if he were ideological, but this idea seemed upsetting to every spokesman on the talk show circuit.  This discussion on all the morning shows fascinated me.  When did we reach the point in our society where pragmatism is considered a good thing, something to be aspired to even?  No modern politician wants to be considered an ideologue.  Why is this the case?

Let's look at the two words.  The dictionary definition of pragmatism doesn't sound so bad.  It is "dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations."  That seems like someone who will work with you in order to get things done.  Okay, I could probably deal with that.  When I look around, however, it seems that the modern application of this is that we only care about what will work, what we can get done, whether or not it fits our philosophy or values.  This appears especially true if you are trying to fight off the charge of be an ideologue.

The other end of the spectrum is ideology.  The definition of an ideologue is "an adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic."  This is what the politicians don't want to be called?  Don't they run their campaigns and ideologues?  No one gives a stump speech in which they say, "I have no beliefs, so I will do whatever I can."  They run on the basis of you, their supporter, caring about their beliefs and values.  They tell you they will fight for those beliefs and hope that will make you want to vote for them.

It seems to me like the ideologue is the person who has values and sticks to them rather than always giving in.  This seems to me like a person of character.  This is William Wilberforce fighting the slave trade for decades before he accomplished it.  He didn't sit down and say, "Well, since the rest of you don't think that works, I guess we won't do it."  He battled staunchly in the face of overwhelming opposition from friends and foes alike.  He is a hero.  We tells stories about people like him, make movies about their fight, and write their names in history books.  Is the pragmatist a hero?  You can draw your own conclusion, but I don't think he is.  I don't think we will make movies about the pragmatists or pass down their stories in history books because they won't really have stories.

I have been told that I am a practical teacher, but I certainly don't want to be a pragmatist.  I don't want my students to see me as pragmatic.  I hope that I have conveyed to them that I have values and beliefs that I will hold to, no matter what.  That doesn't mean that I never compromise on anything, but I will not compromise on the things that are important - integrity, scripture, my beliefs about what is good for their education.  Doing "what works" is like a dog chasing its own tail.  He may catch it, but what is he going to do with it when he does?  He has "caught" something of no value.  I hope that my students see a lot of hard work for things that matter and they will aspire to be ideologues themselves.  If I send out loads of pragmatic alumni, I have done no favors for the world.  If I send out one ideologue, I may have a hand in changing the world.