Posted on 12/20/2021 4:21:13 AM PST by MtnClimber
In a just and sensible America, Victor Davis Hanson would be chair of the history department at Harvard, teaching a mandatory and beloved course in the history of Western Civilization, to be followed in undergraduates’ sophomore year by his equally popular year-long course in American history, both of which would be emulated nationwide by most if not all American colleges and universities.
These courses would be fact intensive, and unlike the rather hagiographic picture students like this writer received during the 50’s, would not only emphasize the achievements of America and the West, but would honestly and rationally confront their infractions and low points. But the overarching message would be clear: Though imperfect, as are all human endeavors, the creative genius of the West has given humanity the vast majority of what has made the modern world superior materially and, through the Judeo- Christian tradition, preferable morally to much of the past; and America can fairly claim to be the finest model of a nation whose governmental and economic system has produced the most fairness, prosperity and ordered freedom, for the largest percentage of its people, of any nation in history.
But alas, this was not to be. Instead, since the seventies we have lost the better part of two generations of badly mis-educated American youth; and the inability of any American institution today to vigorously refute the patent falsehoods about our nation and the West being spewed by the woke left is a direct consequence of that tragic miseducation.
Mankind seems destined to swing from one distorted extreme to its logical opposite: 19th century Western man had an arrogant swagger, understandably, given his near total dominance, and that arrogance carried through well into the 20th century in its educational institutions’ presentation of history.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
What the marxist left has done to our education system is unforgivable.
Parents allowed it.
Take a gander at the recent election in Chile for what is going on. Capitalism bad socialism good. Add on free abortions and LGBQ is great.
Ping. A penny for your thoughts.
Hanson is one of the main, (remaining) sensible, logical and true academic gems we have left.
His greatness shines into the dark recesses of current ignorance and mob rule/thought.
If he were to run for President he would get my vote but then again, he has too much common sense and honesty to do such a thing.
Prof. Hanson, keep pumping out your ideas to the mediocrity of modern, Western life and remind us time AND TIME AGAIN OF OUR PROUD LEGACIES. May we never lose those intellectual and political crown jewels.
I view Hanson and Peterson in much the same light. They are two of the great intellectual forces of the Right today.
What the marxist left has done to our education system is unforgivable.
What CONSERVATIVES HAVE ALLOWED
the marxist left DO to our education system is unforgivable.
Hanson is a life long Democrat, recently turned independent. He wrote a favorable book on Trump.
But he never has written in any of this histories about how big bankers fund and start wars. He has never exposed those supposed allied nations that are enemies of the US that have taken over the country.
Think twice before revering him
...starting with the change of “BLUE States”—of Reagan’s time—to “RED States”...
“Most parents were too busy earning a living.”
I think that’s a cop-out excuse people use too often. It’s most likely that “Most parents were too busy earning money to buy boats, take vacations, etc.
It’s possible (happens everywhere) to “earn a living” with one parent working and the other at home keeping a close eye on what’s going on in their kids’ lives.
There have been probably hundreds of posts here over the years of FReepers who have sacrificed immensely in order to be able to live on one income for the benefit of their children.
Our enemies are grateful.
Dennis Prager puts it concisely: Compared to perfection, America sucks. Compared to anywhere else in reality America is astounding.
Your post indicates complete misunderstanding of American education
The American Education System is not established for kids, students. The system is for educators who being gullible, vote left wing.
Really
And lost every culture war
Well, nobody is a historian of everything. Hanson is a Classicist basically. But he is pro-American, so give him that.
Why do people here still watch college sports?
But in the wake of the Great November Fraud conservatives are now wide awake to what has been happening in their local political circles, and appear to be moving aggressively to end it. Ships don't turn on a dime, but there are encouraging signs.
Democrats made a mistake going all out to defeat one loud-mouthed man, when leaving him in place and continuing their campaign of corrosion would have been the smarter long-term strategy. They placated their restless Left - but awakened many of their sleeping opponents.
If you're going to have children, THEY are your primary responsibility. And YOU are their primary teacher. Yes, the job is integral to funding the little whippers. However, the balancing act, often, becomes a zero sum game.
More broadly, however, beyond history and facts and figures, there is a greater "mindset" that parents need to develop in their kids. In many ways, that mindset, which is lacking but if developed, will solve for the lacking three "Rs". That, is a mindset for self-determination (of course, with God as the cornerstone). In this regard, if the kids lack that mindset, we must recall the old saying that you can't raise a thoroughbred if the parents are asses.
As I wrote elsewhere, one of the most magnificent contemporary pieces was written by Jeffrey Snyder, A Nation of Cowards. While the piece is overtly about concealed carry, it is much broader than that. To wit:
Is your life worth protecting? If so, whose responsibility is it to protect it? If you believe that it is the police's, not only are you wrong -- since the courts universally rule that they have no legal obligation to do so -- but you face some difficult moral quandaries. How can you rightfully ask another human being to risk his life to protect yours, when you will assume no responsibility yourself?...One who values his life and takes seriously his responsibilities to his family and community will possess and cultivate the means of fighting back...He will never be content to rely solely on others for his safety, or to think he has done all that is possible by being aware of his surroundings and taking measures of avoidance.
What Snyder wrote applies literally to every situation under the sun, not just thieves in the night or bad dudes in an alley but bureaucrats in lab coats and college faculty in sport coats. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
But for a moment, consider the 19-year old in Quinnipiac. They saw this notice on the college's website last summer: Quinnipiac is requiring all students, faculty and staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in the fall 2021 semester. Medical and religious exemptions will be granted upon review and are due by July 6, 2021.
Do the student's parents possess the mindset Snyder references? Have they imparted that mindset into their progeny? The exemption process is likely (and intentionally) not easy...that alone will deter the most casual opponents of the shots. In fact, I bet the college will offer information and links and all but administer the shot to the kid directly if they go that route; there will be no such support for the exemption-seekers. The mildly freedom-curious student or parent will give up; They'll cave.
For the remnants, not only do they need the will to persevere through this exemption process (which may require unjust queries, e.g. what kind of religion do you practice?), but in many ways they need a robust pro-liberty mindset (or, HT Diana, a robust post-apocalyptic skill set) that is exercised often.
As the meme goes, one does not simply become Deplorable over night. Sure, it's easy to see the immorality of what's going on. It's also easy to say "no, I'm not getting vaxxed." But, as difficult as it may be for people who've had a Framer's mindset all their life, noobs don't just follow up that new attitude with the ninja-like thought process and access to information to facilitate a successful redpilling in an instant. That process takes some time.
Yes, there ARE many students - backed by parents with Snyder's mindset that's exercised often - who climbed through the muck and mire of the exemption process successfully. Those are the future of our nation.
But the road ahead will not be easy. Yes, I know...it wasn't easy for us. At least when we were young, civil society tolerated rebellious youth. These kids will not be celebrated or championed by the universities. Indeed, these free-thinkers who were previously held up by leftist society as the future of the country, are now ridiculed and doxxed.
"Question Authority" has morphed into "Obey Authority".
For those noobs who haven't yet built a Snyder mind, we need to bring them into the fold. Liberty grows when the field of participants expands, not by shrinking ourselves to glory. Indeed, with the OSHA ruling on the horizon, it is the PARENTS who - opting against the shots - must navigate the testing option. Will THEY "resist"?
The silver lining in all this, is that the incredible opposition thrown up by the statists to someone standing athwart the political science of vaccinations and DOJ investigation of parents, and saying "halt", really reveals how scared they are of us.
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