Theory and Practice

I had the following conversation with my father O.
H: “I think those guys who have experienced what is really going on at the place should make policies when they get older.”
O: “No, no (smiling). If you know the place, you can’t draw a pretty blueprint. They [bureaucrats] can draw a pretty picture precisely because they don’t know the place. And when people at the place fail to produce expected results, they blame them.”
H: “But they should make policies after they have experienced and analyzed what is really going on at the place.”
O: “But that is really hard.”

Yes, I can understand that difficulty. It was relatively easy for me to write two theory papers (now under review at sociology and psychology journals) while I was in Ann Arbor. But, as I began fieldwork in Japan, I realized that theoretical frameworks on nationalism (among others) that I had constructed would not work neatly in trying to make sense of what is really going on in Japan and, what is more, in trying to propose some educational policies. Yes, it is “really hard” to accomplish all this, but I will do my best.

Tomorrow I will go visit my brother in Hokkaido. I will be back next Wednesday.