Re: 9/11 for Dummies (also known as liberals)

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 02:51:05 GMT, shogun@xxxxxxxxx (shogun) wrote:

nice article but not for me

>9/11 for Dummies



>By Professor Anonymous
>FrontPageMagazine.com | August 12, 2005
>
>?Why is it,? wondered my faculty friend, ?that after 9/11, and after the start
>of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, all of a sudden professors without
>professional experience or expertise in the subject became ?experts? on the
>Middle East, Radical Islam, terrorism, U.S. foreign policy and the like??
>These instant experts were eager to teach students, colleagues -- and anyone
>they could get to listen -- about these subjects. They were especially anxious
>to ensure that everyone would adopt their politically correct viewpoints and
>have an arsenal of facts to support their views.
>
>?We both know,? I said, ?that this is propagandizing, not educating, and it is
>an abuse of the true mission of universities, which is the pursuit of
>knowledge, not political ideology. We see how this undermines academic
>discipline and standards essential for the pursuit of knowledge. You know what
>I mean: thorough knowledge of the primary sources and the main scholarship for
>one?s field; critical and rational analysis of many different approaches and
>complex explanations for the key questions and problems in one?s field; a
>total commitment to accuracy and honesty, even if this means sacrificing one?s
>pet theories; and above all, making sure that our students learn the
>importance of these standards. They have to embrace them fully. Without these,
>the pursuit of knowledge leads to the dead end of propaganda and distorted
>theories, not truth. We see how vulnerable students are to the seductive
>attractions that instant ?experts? offer with their simplistic instant
>explanations and ideology. This makes insisting on upholding our professional
>academic standards all the m ore important, don?t you think??
>
>?Sure,? said the professor, ?but there?s been a problem here ever since 9/11
>and even before that. Instant ?experts? and their low standards are spreading
>everywhere nowadays.?
>
>
>
>I know that this is true, and this is my subject here. The information I am
>about to present comes from my own experience at the university where I teach,
>from my teaching assistants and students, from colleagues at other
>universities, from professional journals such as The Chronicle of Higher
>Education and Academe, the Journal of the American Association of University
>Professors, and from newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington
>Post.
>
>
>
>The 9/11 Emergency and Instant Experts
>
>
>
>Thus radical professors sought to use their newly asserted expertise to
>indoctrinate and radicalize as many students and faculty as they could;
>especially students. [1] Students were ?too conservative,? said some; the
>tragic demise of the ideals of 60?s radicalism was at hand, thought others.
>This crisis called for action.
>
>
>
>In one department at a large public university a professor of American
>business history took it upon himself to organize a "teach-in" with some other
>professors--most of whom had no particular knowledge or expertise that made
>them logical choices for this. Meanwhile, faculty members who did have such
>knowledge, including specialists on foreign affairs, Islamic history,
>political theory, and military and diplomatic history, were not asked to
>participate; they were expected to attend and be indoctrinated like everyone
>else. This event was well- advertised throughout the university, thus
>insulting genuine experts who should have been in charge of the whole thing,
>given their qualifications and knowledge. The qualification for leadership
>here was leftist ideology, not substantive knowledge of the issues and
>relevant fields.
>
>
>
>Another example: a professor of 17th c. British history organized a panel on
>American foreign policy and Afghanistan. He was no expert on the subject, but
>considered himself qualified to organize and choose a panel of speakers who
>all belonged to the "No Blood for Oil" antiwar school of thought. Their
>analysis of the crisis of radical Islamists, terrorism, Osama bin Laden,
>Afghanistan and the Middle East etc. revolved around one idea: that our
>involvement in these problems was entirely and exclusively aimed at gaining
>control of oil pipeline territories and oil. Not only was the political and
>cultural analysis beyond poor, even the economics were wrong! (there was and
>is now no oil pipeline in Afghanistan). Most of the audience, faculty and some
>graduate students from the history and government and politics department, sat
>quietly nodding in agreement. Only a few courageous souls dared to question
>this analysis and its purported factual basis, and in so doing risked getting
>the disapproval and contempt of the rest of the audience. Social pressure to
>accept the teachings of the pseudo-experts as much as real experts was
>evident. Challenging them was ?not cool.?
>
>more @ http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19096

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Distinguished ID theorist denied tenure by university
    ... Politics, faculty have been known to steal major credit for students ...
    (talk.origins)
  • 9/11 for Dummies (also known as liberals)
    ... These instant experts were eager to teach students, ... indoctrinate and radicalize as many students and faculty as they could; ... business history took it upon himself to organize a "teach-in" with some other ... American foreign policy and Afghanistan. ...
    (soc.culture.iraq)
  • COMMUNIST COWARDS CANNOT ACCEPT DEFEAT
    ... Brawl in JU after SFI loses engineering faculty too - By IE ... WTI students say the SFI brought in CPIhooligans to bash them up, ... We The Independent (WTI) bagged all the 4 seats, ...
    (soc.culture.indian)
  • COMMUNIST COWARDS CANNOT ACCEPT DEFEAT
    ... Brawl in JU after SFI loses engineering faculty too - By IE ... WTI students say the SFI brought in CPIhooligans to bash them up, ... We The Independent (WTI) bagged all the 4 seats, ...
    (soc.culture.indian)
  • Re: Goddamn DoTS Nazis
    ... as I drive up and down my faculty parking lot filled with ... They have heavy book bags* to tote and their ... >>than faculty. ... >>students almost come to blows over parking spots. ...
    (talk.origins)