When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Hindsight Gives History Its 'Best' Young Soldiers... more than a few Americans must be worrying about the performance of our troops. After all, it is widely believed that today's soldiers went to failing schools...
-- NY TImes, 10-24-01
Guess what? The only time any adult tells youth they surpass their predecessors is when addressing a college freshmen class. Every college freshman class is better than the one before. This is amazing, considering what increasingly poor students our high schools are turning out.
To read this Times article, you have to register at their site, but it's worth it. This article includes these highlights:
- Tom Brokaw in "The Greatest Generation" (1998) said that the warriors of 60 years ago displayed "towering achievement and modest demeanor."
- In 1941, Robert Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, worried that young people did not have the literary and historical background to participate in a democracy.
- In 1927, the National Association of Manufacturers charged that 40 percent of high school graduates could not do simple arithmetic or use English accurately.
I can't lay my hands on it, but I seem to recall an Aristotle statement bemoaning the lack of preparation among the youth of his day. What is it with adults that they always think they were so much better? Do they forget how scared they were, how they fumbled?
Maybe we should consider not changes in education, but changes in warfare. What distinguishes those who survive each successive war and thus live to describe how bold, how smart they were? In ancient times, it may have been brute strength that characterized most survivors, though surely some survived war due to wilyness. More modern warfare may demand more technological proficience. In all generations, the survivors were very very lucky.
Palema
5:51 AM
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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