I have trouble with absolutes. Last night, I met a man who tried to convince me that meditation was the solution to all of our problems, and that any problem I ever encounter with students could be solved simply through meditation. He also mentioned that the CPS teachers' problems would be, likewise, solved if the kids meditated.
Imagine that. An entire system, broken and riddled with problems, completely cured through meditation. Don't you think they would have figured that out if that was truly the solution?
He expanded further, telling me all the benefits of meditation, one of his supporting arguments entailing that he could lead himself to sexual climax while meditating. He finished that argument with, "Well, can you do that?"
I stared silently.
His logic was difficult to argue with, but I saw many flaws within his logic that he would never see. Another premise for his argument was that we should meditate because we'll be more in touch with our bodies. This was a definite "plus" in my mind. However, his defense for that, as well, was that we should harness this power over our bodies simply because we can. I couldn't disagree more. Just because we have the power to do something, doesn't mean we should.
However, his largest underlying flaw was his reliance and dependence on an absolute. Generalizing is good, but not when you generalize to the point of an absolute. In his case, meditation was his absolute. It was the solution to all of man's problems. While he wasn't the stereotypical ignorant person, he still showed his ignorance through this dependence and narrow-mindedness.
If there is anything I've learned, the only absolute in the world is that there are no absolutes.