Name an institution in human history that has not changed in any serious way in the last 500 years. The Catholic Church? Right. Now name another.

The British Parliament? Yep. Another?

Well, surprise - certain universities, like Oxford, Cambridge and others in that league. Clark Kerr, in his book "The Uses of the University," writes that 85 institutions in western culture have stayed virtually unchanged since 1520. Of those, 70 - yes, 70 - are universities.

The same basic concerns, the same faculty loads and requirements (research, teaching and service, more or less in that order) the same administrative structures, all have remained, including their becapped and begowned graduations. The instruments in the graduation bands have no doubt changed, but having music at graduations hasn't.

Yet in all my years of university teaching, I never heard a faculty colleague praise the status quo. Faculty seemed to yearn for change, agitate for it, meet endlessly about it.

Did the status quo at the university ever change? Except for collective bargaining, which introduced more bureaucracy about which faculty and administrators could dither, no.

Given the yearly calls for change and the yearly lack of change, universities exemplify a disconnect. Always have, always will.

In truth, "disconnect" applies to so many institutions and activities that it seems all pervasive and all encompassing. Universities just embody change/no change best.

Consider: Citizens want dozens of expensive public services but hate taxes, not seeing that you don't get one for long without the other.

Californians currently reveal this disconnect as their state moves toward bankruptcy.

Here's another and more tragic example: We abhor school shootings, but shooters and their lives become stars of 24-hour news events for days. What do these sad people have in common before they become killers? They all seem to want attention. What's a fast and guaranteed way to garner nationwide attention? Shoot innocent people, of course.

Instead of instant fame, such killers deserve only instant anonymity. We don't seem to get this disconnect.

Or anti-abortion fanatics, who won't see that outlawing abortion would only eliminate legal abortions. Abortions would continue, unsafe for poor people and abroad for rich people. We did this for decades. Still, the disconnect continues, including murder in the name of a pro-life stance.

Or the most obvious disconnect of all: the epidemic of narcissism that currently engulfs our culture via the Internet and reality TV. Too many of us want to believe we're special, unique and deserve everything without having to do much of anything. It's called "narcissistic entitlement syndrome." At worst, it's a mental illness, a serious personality disorder. At best, it's merely unproductive and annoying.

Take those electronic swamps of me-ness, Facebook and Twitter. Please.

Read about me, know about my every move, look at me, that's enough about me - what do you think about me? Aren't I special?

If the '70s were the "Me Decade," the 2000s have become the Me, Myself and I decade. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, I'm the special one of all" has become the slogan of millions.

The disconnect here between the reality of real accomplishment and the fantasy of being special should give us pause. Telling children they're special because they exist is just plain silly. They're special when they learn to do something especially well. That's what boosts self-esteem, not repeating how special they are. If I were a kid, I would doubt any adult who insisted I was amazing just for showing up.

What's to be done about all these disconnects? For a start:

(1) Question what you think. Your deepest thoughts might be disconnected from what's out there.

(2) Seek opposing facts and opinions. You can't stay disconnected for long if you understand other positions that may be just as valid as your own.

(3) Try putting yourself and your opinions second, or - gasp - last.