The Further Education of a Gearhead

Why are humans so prone to do things to an extreme? Crawford wrote about his obsession with finding answers for broken motorcycles, all stemming from his attentiveness, a good thing. Attentiveness, just like anything else, can lead back to selfishness/obsession. How are we supposed to counter-act the tunnel vision of a curious man who only sees his own goals? Crawford seems to say that the answer is a community (economic or otherwise) to keep the curious/attentive individual balanced. Funny how well this book ties into the class...

The Education of a Gearhead

I love the experience of sitting in a classroom staring at/sketching a once familiar object. The whole is no longer important and you have to be attentive to every detail. It requirers one to sort of start from scratch and forget all one's preconceived notions. Crawford speaks of the thoughtfulness that comes from crafting motorcycle parts (and drawing skeletons). When his mentor, Chas, was attentive and took his craft personally it allowed for the truth be revealed. He makes intelligent and unselfish decisions and in so doing becomes a more intellectually and morally virtuous person. He had to get outside his own head and try to fix something that was real. He was not creating it, but instead just looking at it afresh to give it new life. Crawford believes that in doing this one counters the culture of narcissism and wastefulness.  It makes sense. When one is attentive to something other than him/herself they can no longer dwell on their selfish concerns. This seems almost Biblical.

This chapter was packed with insightful thoughts. I'm still sorting through all them. I'll get back to this...

To Be a Master of One's Own Stuff

Matthew Crawford's chapter on mastering one's own stuff has led to some answers to my own nameless discontent. I think I have been stuck in the "bored housewife syndrome" that Betty Friedan theorizes is the problem modern women face in her historical book, The Feminine Mystique. Okay, so I am not a housewife, but I can still relate to the women of the 50's and 60's who Friedan was addressing. I too have experienced purposelessness in my life and I think it partly has to do with the fact that I have become a consumer instead of a producer. Our culture teaches us that we gain self-realization and freedom when we buy something new, instead of conserving something old, but we end up being acted upon and not involved in human engagement. We loose ourselves when we are not involved in a true "skilled and active human engagement". I think it is telling that companies like Betty Crocker have picked up on this fact and made their cake mixes with missing ingredients so that the consumer gets to "do" something and feel like they are producing a cake on their own. The "choices" hide the fact that the consumer is not expressing themselves or being creative and since we have been convinced we are doing something for so long that we have forgotten what it was to really be creative.


I have been passive to often, allowing for apathy, purposelessness, and boredom. I think it is something many people of my generation face. We are taught to try to find the most efficient way to get something done or get rich fast, but that in the end that doesn't usually lead to happiness or even contentment. Of course we want the next thing. Passivity has led to discontent because we are so used to being entertained or taken care of by someone or something else so that we can't even entertain or do something on our own anymore. Ironically the excuse is usually that one doesn't have enough time.

Gracious Politics

It's a tendency of mine to focus on the politics of this Earth. I get so easily wrapped up in protecting my rights, and the rights of other citizens of the US, that I forget that I am firstly a part of God's kingdom. Wilson-Hartgrove writes about living counter-culturally all throughout his book, but his final chapter was probably one of the most revolutionary, just as Jesus seemed when he spoke of how to relate to this world of power and money. Sometimes we will be requirered to do things that aren't especially popular, like Wilson-Hartgrove did when he went over to Iraq with the Christian Peacemakers Team, but it's because we are called to pledge alligence to God with our lives. We are to live a different kind of life in the world. More serious than national patriotism, we are called to be patriots for God. We are to maintain righteous indignation and fight injustice, but it is not just about protecting my rights. It is about what God desires. Sometimes that will not concide with the world's systems of money and power. It will requirer creativity and repentence, but it's a chance to realign our alliegence.

The Separation of Thinking from Doing

It comes down to a loss of freedom. Within the past 100 years our freedom to create and think as an individual have been taken away by scientific management and centralized authority. We have allowed a routinization to separate thinking from doing. Crawford points out that these liberal ideas breed irresponsibility. We no longer know how to make things, or problem solve because we have given the power over to a few elite experts who train us to do our menial task within the system. I feel inspired to take back cognitive work and butt our system, but I know I am an young idealist. Well, for now all I can do is seek to work in a more independent and comprehensive manner.

People are always seeking happiness, and it seems the more technology and consumer goods we have the less happy we are. I think there is a link between our loss of ownership and hands-on production. There are many reasons for true happiness, but I think that one way to experience true happiness is when we can see the results from the use of our cognitive mind. Humans gain satisfaction in a job well done and one that is done with the use of their real creative powers (not a few options to choose from that our boss gave us). It seems almost counter-cultural (in my American context) to think that real work might lead to happiness, but it may be the answer.

Relational Generosity

God's Economy has been challenging me to redefine the good life. I think so often we assume the good life entails relationships, but only with our friends and family. Wilson-Hartgrove yet again pushes us further when he said, "Abundant life is a life we enjoy together with the family of God." The family of God includes the dirty homeless guy on the side of the road as well as our mother or best friend. This is a hard thing to swallow when so many times I walk right by a homeless man without ever really thinking about them as a person. That sounds harsh, and it is. I think many times people I don't normally associate with become invisible in my eyes. I am challenged to love as Jesus loves.

Wilson-Hartgrove noticed something about people living in our wealthy and comfortable society that I have actually thought before. We can go through a day without thinking about God because we don't "need" him. I struggle with this just as any American does, but if I start to know poverty in a personal manner by making friends with the poor and needy, then I will understand the need for a Savior in an even more real way. I think his solution is a good one. I think I will understand my God and the gift of salvation in a more tangible way if I begin to be relationally generous.