People in Cambridge, Massachusetts often complain about the apparent lack of intellectual and academic achievement displayed by our top politicians. A Harvard PhD in an appropriate field ought to make one more qualified for any job. Why then do Americans elect to high office people who sound as though they were strangers to the world of the university?
A glimmer of an explanation emerged when a friend told me about the loud argument she’d had with her father, a humanities professor at a university here in Boston. Professor X, an immigrant from Europe, stated that Osama bin Laden was one of his heroes because he was a champion of the working man. Daughter X asked for some clarification as to how a Saudi who had inherited $250+ million from his daddy could be said to represent the interests of the average worker. Professor X noted that Americans deserved to be attacked on September 11th because the U.S. exploited workers in poor countries and that Osama represented those workers. Even those who believe that Professor X is correct will admit that his opinions are out of sync with those of the average American voter.
How about the students? An increasing number of graduate students, especially in technical and scientific departments, are foreigners. A kid who grows up in a Muslim country where the mood is relentlessly anti-American can’t be expected to abandon his antipathy to the American government and the American lifestyle merely because he is so excited to be studying here at U.S. government expense. If you wanted to attend an anti-Israel rally 10 years ago the local university would have been the most likely place to visit. Those rallies turned into anti-Jewish events 5 years ago and are today places to denounce the current U.S. government and the millions of Americans who voted for it.
For better or worse American universities have become our main local venues for displays of anti-American feeling. Perhaps this is one reason that our most successful politicians don’t sound as though they’ve spent too much time on campus.
[I’m off to Oaxaca, Mexico now and will be there on November 2 during what, no matter who wins, promises to be something of a national tragedy. I managed to be away for all of September 2001 in Nova Scotia and am beginning to feel lucky to have escaped our nation’s most painful moments.]
Those rallies turned into anti-Jewish events 5 years ago and are today places to denounce the current U.S. government and the millions of Americans who voted for it… For better or worse American universities have become our main local venues for displays
Short answer: in politics, results matter. In academia, ideas matter. See the Dilbert cartoon with Ratbert saying “I’m more of an idea rat.”
BTW Professor X is a moron.
This situation is not a speciality of the USA so an explanation that works only for the USA is probably wrong.
I agree with Patrick. Criticizing an administration and criticizing foreign policies is not anti-American. Dissention _is_ patriotic.
Jonathan:
There is a difference between dissent and pathological hatred of everything about the US and the West. A lot of the campus Left is precariously close to the latter.
Philip:
Not to mention that, in years past, academia was firmly in the camp of thoroughly evil politics like Stalinism and Maoism. That sure wouldn’t fly during the Cold War.
I would like comment on Professor X for a moment. He needs to line up in visa offices around the world and experience immigration pathology since September 11 if he thinks Osama represents “workers” or “people” from around the world. Now everything is harder for common people to do.
In Africa there is a saying: “When two elephants fight it’s the grass that is hurt most.”
People like Bin Laden, in their psychotic version of Islam, may represent some muslim extremists in the Middle East (and Pakistan), but they do not represent Africans, Asians, South Americans or any other group in “the world.” For us they’ve made the world a tougher place.
Although I feel estranged from the political establishment in America, inasmuch as they are able to keep America a safe, robust place in the world, they do represent something that people like me can benefit from. Once I went to a well respected school and was looking at all the portraits of (white) men on the wall, I knew that it represented a club to which I’d never belong, but I write software for those rich (white) men, so I don’t mind them as much.
On a funny side note, my parents left for Uganda yesterday and one gift they took back with them on behalf of a person here was a copy of Clinton’s “My Life.” My dad kind of scoffed at it and they asked with shock on their faces “Are you Republican?!!”
No, we’re Ugandan.
Our president went to Yale and has a Harvard MBA. John Kerry went to Yale and has a Boston College JD.
Say what you will about the “intellectual achievement” of either, but they are hardly “strangers to the world of the university,” nor was our last president, nor the president before him.
(As for the new generation, Barak Obama is a Columbia/Harvard Law man … I suppose the counterexample would be Arnold Schwarzenegger.)
I hope your Mexican holiday extends thru Thanksgiving, otherwise you might be returning to the last half of this national tragedy.
I heard on the radio this morning that Ohio has 40,000+ ballots that won’t be counted/certified until 2 weeks after Nov 2. Probably enough that Ohio’s electoral vote will be unknown for a few weeks. And it sounded like several other states might have pending lawsuits, etc to drag this out for weeks.
Philip,
Universities, like your blog, are places to challenge widely held assumptions. In the past these assumptions may have been ‘capitalism is good, communism BAD’, or they may currently be, ‘Israel is our best friend in the middle-east’. What ever the widely-held notion is, somebody has to challenge it in order to spur rational discussion and allow out-moded ways of thinking to be thrown away and/or effective ways of thinking to be re-inforced.
I would hardly expect a politician to challenge the mindset of the voting public. Rather, they must spend years creating a wave of propaganda/sentiment that they can ride into election.
btw, I hope that you can pick up ‘Indecision 2004’ on cable/satellite while you are on vacation. I expect that it will provide a watchable semi-version of events for nov2
Seems like this is asking for a knee-jerk reaction. Well here’s my knee jerking!
Anti-failing_government != Anti-American
Anti-ridiculous_policies != Anti-American
Anti-preemptive_war != Anti-American
Students are essentially
teenagers
+freedom_from_parents
+slowly_settling_adulthood
+new_feeling_of_responsibility_and_power
+insufficient_media_brainwashing
+lots_of_passion_and_energy
It is natural that this group of the population will react acutely to the crises they are aware of.
The better question is what’s wrong with the rest of us. Given up? Robotized?
Um, I’m not American so I need to have this spelled out: why will it be a national tragedy “either way”?
It’s a national tragedy because both parties’ foreign policy revolves around expanding America’s power by invading and interefering in other countries’s affairs which serves the following goals
1) exploiting their natural resources
2) establishing a pro american government that follows US policy like a sick puppy.
In case of W, he would like to Christianize the heck out of the world too, Evengelical sytle.
It’s not just tragic it’s catasrophic. The dominance of these two parties should be destroyed.
I will vote for Mr Ralph Nader.
Well, you’ve graced us with your analysis. Will you grace us with your vote?
“There is a difference between dissent and pathological hatred of everything about the US and the West. A lot of the campus Left is precariously close to the latter.”
Sorry to be pedantic here but “pathalogical hatred” is the language of the right-wing spin machine. I suspect what you’re seeing on campus is “radical” criticism (ie. criticism that sees a *lot* of things *very* wrong) by very pissed off people. There’s still a difference.
No, I have seen it up close. It is pathological hatred, sort of a cultlike behavior almost.
PatrickG,
While pathological is defined as “altered or caused by disease”, “pathological hatred” really cannot be accurately ascribed to a large group of people, even a cult, unless they all suffer from the same disease, mental or physical.
As such, the term has been widely used by the ‘right wing media’ and really means nothing in and of itself. I am sure that it would be comforting to you to believe that no rational or sane person would disagree with you, but that really is not the case. There is a strong possibility that other people may have a different set of beliefs, or possibly, a greater understanding of events than you do.
I have some friends that have strong political beliefs that are different than mine, we have even spoken at length on these topics without swaying each others opinion. At no point did we label each other as mentally ill.
Maybe you should gain a greater understanding of civility before you judge other people.
Gary, I understand and appreciate your call to civility.
What term would you suggest be used instead, when at the mention of a hot-button issue, a chilling mask of hatred descends over someone’s face as they excoriate a single person (whom they have never met, e.g W or Cheney) and ascribe all sorts of evil thoughts and activities to?
I have seen this again and again, from people who otherwise are very nice, sometimes are even family members. If pathological isn’t the word, please tell me what the word is.
PatrickG,
It is a learned response. Whether it is based on actual experience or propaganda there are many ways to deal with it.
I recently was in the middle of a conversation with a friend that has deep religious beliefs. At the mention of Kerry she began deriding and demonizing him with no real understanding or discussion of political underpinnings.
I explained to her that this was outside the bounds of normal political conversation (without insulting her) and ended the discussion. We both had a chance to cool down and continued the conversation later.
Maybe you need to try and understand what your family members are trying to discuss, seperate it from their overt behavior then set a stage where you can continue the discussion.
” studying here at U.S. government expense”
This is not true for many countries that I know of. The “US Government” requires proof (lots of it and verifiable) that ALL expenses of the student will be covered by funds from the home country or an immidiate family member already here.
Doesn’t matter whom you denounce – as long as it’s not Israel Mr Greenspun won’t be pissed off.
In his twisted mind, ever single non jewish people in the world is mobilized to beat the shit out Israel! If you denounce Israelie’s governmetn action you are spewing out anti semitic remarks.
One would think that a Phd in computer science would make a person more logical – apparently it didn’t work for Philipy.
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