David Brooks, the op-ed columnist, (bless his heart) wrote a piece June 9th about the irreplaceable role of 'the humanities' in the educational preparation for joining today's economy..  An excerpt: "Studying the humanities improves your ability to read and write.  No matter what you do in life,you will have a huge advantage if you can read a paragraph and discern its meaning (a rarer talent than you might suppose).  You will have enormous power if you are the person in the office who can write a clear and concise memo."

I like one of Brooks' phrases particularly---"the fast, effortless prose of blogging (and journalism)" which, he claims, "lacks the heft to get you deep below"  and into the  realm of emotional knowledge that is the subject of the humanities..    So, the place of  story-tellers with their skill with words down through the ages and into the future, seems assured.   We can hope.