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Entries from April 2, 2006 - April 8, 2006
From U. Of Nevada: ‘Peace rally’ an oxymoron
Updated on Saturday, April 8, 2006 at 02:51AM by
Peter Johnston
Where 'peace' is passive, ‘freedom’ is pro-active.
Peter Johnston
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From Northwestern: Kids Say the Darndest Things
Earlier this week, I was assigned to interview a second grader who had been deemed a "Kid of Character," the latest installment of a weekly segment featuring a local child who had been nominated for his outstanding behavior. This week's selection, a seven-year-old boy, had been chosen due to his dedication to recycling and his love for the environment. The interview went very well--aside from a few conversational digressions expected from any little kid.
As I was wrapping up the discussion, I asked the perfunctory catch-all question, "Is there anything else you'd like to add?" "I really hate George Bush," he responded, his brow furrowing. "Why?" He proceeded to slam the president for the Alaskan drilling proposal, informing me that all the president cares about is "oil and money."From John Brown U: Arm the good guys!
If I were a thug I would definitely think twice before holding up some guy in an alley if there was a good chance he was armed. Wouldn’t you?
Peter Johnston
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From John Brown U: Immigration; Not All Illegal and Not all U.S.
As I was reading about US immigration, I was again forced to consider the legal and other implications of the problem. As we all know, America was founded by immigrants. I myself come from a Scots-Irish family that came over in 1795, and I am extremely proud both of my Scots-Irish and my American heritage. Yet as the country filled up (figuratively, if not quite literally), immigration obviously became more difficult, until we are arrived at our current station. Do we allow more immigrants in, and jeopardize American jobs? Do we shut down the borders completely for security purposes? Do we make citizens the illegal immigrants who have already made their way in and just want a better life? Do we deport those who have broken the law?
From U. of Nevada: The UN Disconnect
A fascinating disconnect has developed about the United Nations since its founding: That somehow the UN is the world body whose primary mission is the promotion of 'peace.' Actually, the United Nations is based upon the insights of Immanuel Kant, who two hundred years ago wrote the formulation for the entire world to achieve 'perpetual peace': His argument: achieve world freedom first.
From John Brown U: Are Muslim Countries Ready For Democracy?
The featured article on the Wall Street Journal’s April 4th Op-Ed page is a response by Peter Wehner, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House's Office of Strategic Initiatives, to three conservative—and one ex-conservative—pundits who are "harsh critics of the Iraq war." They are William F. Buckley Jr., George Will, and Francis Fukuyama, respectively. While I support the war for various reasons, I found myself defending the war critics. Below are some selections from Mr. Wehner's article, and my thoughts.
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From Yale: "Wearing Social Change"
By Dan Gelernter
The newest concern of the socially conscientious (left) seems to be environmentally friendly fashion design. An email sent out to all Yale students trumpets “a conference on sustainable fashion” called “Wearing Social Change.”
This ‘conference’ will include lectures like: “Summer Rayne Oakes [apparently a real name] on modeling, style, and social conscience.”
Believe it or not, this event comes along with a website that trumpets: “From organic cotton to local factories, the apparel industry is witnessing an increasing awareness of the potential for sustainability at all levels of production.”
Perhaps the efforts of these noble individuals will insure the existence of t-shirts for future generations.
From U. of Chicago: Campus Profile
At the University of Chicago the spirit of the liberal education has lead to quite an altered relationship. Here too one will find the typical political ranting, though mostly among first years eager to become active in campus discussion. Learning how to a read a book, particularly The Great Books, has a way of tempering and informing one’s opinions though; it forces you to see the limits of your own knowledge. The result is that the liberalism here, though misguided, at least attempts to make an educated defense of its position. More importantly, though, for such an academically high-caliber school, Chicago has a much stronger conservative presence. And though we do have the College Republican sorts, we also have conservatives who can quote Burke and Oakeshott – not to mention Bloom and Strauss.
From UW-Madison: New Student Government
UW-Madison's Student Government has been mired in controversy for years - regarding everything from transparency to collection and allocation of student fees to oversight - decades of reform efforts have come to naught. Last week, though, that began to change.
From Yale: Next Embarrassment, Please!
Yale is quick to run from one moral discgrace to another, proudly announcing this morning that the president of the Communist dictatorship of China is going to make a visit here. A circular sent to all students reminds us that, even if we can't get tickets, we'll be able to watch his speech on Yale Cable. Yale has created a special website to keep track of updates. Oh, and "it is clear that some streets will be closed for the motorcade, and other traffic may be temporarily re-routed during a part of the morning."
From U. of Alaska Anchorage: Not Thinking -- It's Everywhere
Moral relativism, and the unwillingness to think, result from the growth of egocentrism in American society. We have simply become too narcissistic and selfish to do the hard work; beyond that, many have become unable to do it. They never learned how to do work, or that they should work. The ever narrower focus on self in our culture, in our thinking, has deprived many in our society of the ability to see broadly enough to think rationally and critically; personal gratification has become the only goal.
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