Steven P. BarrettWILL MAKING MORE HIGHER EDUCATION AVAILABLE FOR OUR ENEMIES MAKE THEM FRIENDS?
July 16th 2008 18:14
Steven Barrett
The more I read about the Big O, the more I keep scratching my head, wondering if this man really has a clue about the world he wants us to trust him with the leadership of the greatest nation and power on the face of the planet.
Does this man of the moment really have the slightest idea of how ugly it is out there and what kind of enemies we have, or had, until they blew up the Kobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen and of course the WTC and Pentagon? Let’s not forget that big hole in rural Pennsylvania our enemies are also responsible for, not to mention the holes they created in thousands of the relatives, friends, and acqaintances of these people they killed, some of them being Muslin as well as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics and atheists as well.
Regardless of where they bowed their heads, they were innocent people who were targeted because they were Americans and/or lived in the United States. They were essentially deemed both guilty by birth, nationality, faith and the nation they lived and worked in.
They were also targeted by very bright and highly trained minds. Most of the terrorists we’ve had to deal with during the past 15 or so years, were well educated. Very well. So how does this statement written for a Chicago area paper by the Big O square with historical reality? Take a look at this gem I’ve quoted from Michelle Malkin’s column “Diplomas Won't Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack “ appearing in today’s Townhall.com:
"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."
Malkin’s column, listing the educational pedigrees and levels of training effectively blows a hole in The Big O’s educational theories as big as those jets ripped through the WTC, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania. Take a look:
Really Long Link
Maybe the problem lies with me. Maybe I’m not that much of an Adlai Stevenson “goody-two-shoes” type of Democrat. Those are the kind who are so sophisticatedly internationalist that they forget they still belong to a country: right here, their own.
It could be my native New England cautious or (cynically cautious) spirit that’s causing me to be more than comfortably over skeptical when it comes to the Great O’s profoundities. Don’t they have rocky shorelines on Lake Michigan? Sure. But it looks like he might’ve missed them all due to his calm lofty (“beyond the horizon gaze”) mental outlook that seldom sees any large boulders covered with barnacles.
Of course! That’s the New Englander (or Maniac wannabe) in me that’s saying “Ayuh, Mister – not so fast with singing the paeans to the necessity of making sure everybody in the Middle East gets a college education, and perhaps a graduate degree.”
This world has enough woes aplenty caused by legions of book-smart/street-stupid and overeducated mad geniuses who’ve misused their gifts. Naturally, liberals line up against advanced military technology and social conservatives take issue with embryonic stem cell research. So what’s wrong with folks like myself and Michelle Malkin telling The Great O to take it a little slower on the “more education will bring us closer together and solve our woes if only we create more opportunities for people to attend college” schtick?
I’m all for making college more accessible (for those who qualify) – but there are some people who should never have received more than a mere elementary school education. Thanks to 9/11, we’ve come to know some of their names, and the names of the lives they stole from all of us.
The more I read about the Big O, the more I keep scratching my head, wondering if this man really has a clue about the world he wants us to trust him with the leadership of the greatest nation and power on the face of the planet.
Does this man of the moment really have the slightest idea of how ugly it is out there and what kind of enemies we have, or had, until they blew up the Kobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen and of course the WTC and Pentagon? Let’s not forget that big hole in rural Pennsylvania our enemies are also responsible for, not to mention the holes they created in thousands of the relatives, friends, and acqaintances of these people they killed, some of them being Muslin as well as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics and atheists as well.
Regardless of where they bowed their heads, they were innocent people who were targeted because they were Americans and/or lived in the United States. They were essentially deemed both guilty by birth, nationality, faith and the nation they lived and worked in.
They were also targeted by very bright and highly trained minds. Most of the terrorists we’ve had to deal with during the past 15 or so years, were well educated. Very well. So how does this statement written for a Chicago area paper by the Big O square with historical reality? Take a look at this gem I’ve quoted from Michelle Malkin’s column “Diplomas Won't Make Jihadis Go Away, Barack “ appearing in today’s Townhall.com:
"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."
Malkin’s column, listing the educational pedigrees and levels of training effectively blows a hole in The Big O’s educational theories as big as those jets ripped through the WTC, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania. Take a look:
Really Long Link
Maybe the problem lies with me. Maybe I’m not that much of an Adlai Stevenson “goody-two-shoes” type of Democrat. Those are the kind who are so sophisticatedly internationalist that they forget they still belong to a country: right here, their own.
It could be my native New England cautious or (cynically cautious) spirit that’s causing me to be more than comfortably over skeptical when it comes to the Great O’s profoundities. Don’t they have rocky shorelines on Lake Michigan? Sure. But it looks like he might’ve missed them all due to his calm lofty (“beyond the horizon gaze”) mental outlook that seldom sees any large boulders covered with barnacles.
Of course! That’s the New Englander (or Maniac wannabe) in me that’s saying “Ayuh, Mister – not so fast with singing the paeans to the necessity of making sure everybody in the Middle East gets a college education, and perhaps a graduate degree.”
This world has enough woes aplenty caused by legions of book-smart/street-stupid and overeducated mad geniuses who’ve misused their gifts. Naturally, liberals line up against advanced military technology and social conservatives take issue with embryonic stem cell research. So what’s wrong with folks like myself and Michelle Malkin telling The Great O to take it a little slower on the “more education will bring us closer together and solve our woes if only we create more opportunities for people to attend college” schtick?
I’m all for making college more accessible (for those who qualify) – but there are some people who should never have received more than a mere elementary school education. Thanks to 9/11, we’ve come to know some of their names, and the names of the lives they stole from all of us.
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