What about the hands? If you were to walk the campus at Yale University in NewHaven, CT. You would see one of the most beautiful university campuses in the US with some of the most beautiful cut stone architecture in the world. You would watch students pass through gates, oblivious to the intricacies of stone masonry, oblivious to the efforts required to learn the trade, and equally oblivious to the huge contributions made to their institution by the working class. In essense, a walk through the campus explains a lot about American politics. It explains the arrogance of George W. Bush. It explains how John Kerry could be out of touch.

Where the hands are not engaged in the development of intelligence, there is little wisdom. If I were president of Yale University, I would ask that every incoming freshman spend a week in the quarries, develop blisters from the labor and learn to recognize the marks of each tool used in the carving of stone. Students would cast aside the arrogance of the ivory tower, and develop respect for the dignity of craftsmanship. Some might even find pleasure in it. We would become a wiser and more humane nation as a result.