Dust in the wind.

[sparky]

I taught microeconomics in 4 colleges of the City University of New York for 3 years.

then you should be our go to guy for economic debates

Critical thinking is still valued and taught.

I'm on the fence about that

Republicans fear an educated population

any pol preaching fear does these days

They become more capable of critical thinking and questioning authority.

a shread of hope such 'Flowers for Algernon' scenarios can exist...

The last thing democrats want is questioning of authority or diversity of thought and opinion. History bears this out, and the current attitude and behavior of leftists confirms it.

agreed

it really doesn't take a history major to point this out, or realize the phenomenon

in the broader objective , what metric can be used?

are we devolving into pandemic?

~S~

 

[rightwinger]

Liberal arts colleges are increasingly conscripting and producing useful idiots to go after older Americans like you and I; particularly older white Americans. Why? That’s easy. You and your predecessors killed the Indians, stole land from the Mexicans, enslaved the blacks and nuked the Japanese. According to them anyway; we are all guilty of being “bad” white people.

What an interesting take on things. I am also retired, mid-60s. I am a college student at a university in our smallish city, seeking a BS degree. Oddly, I have not seen a shred of evidence of what you claim. My major is Native American Studies; my minor is anthropology. You would think if what you claim is true, after 3.5 semesters I would have noticed it, eh? BTW, my career was spent as a health care professional; that education also did not "conscript" me.

What you really fear is that as people become more educated, they become less susceptible to the Goering-like chanting and nationalistic spew of fascists. They become more capable of critical thinking and questioning authority. They are exposed to a diverse group of other students -- and adults -- from different backgrounds. They discover that their parents' prejudices, racism, and bigotry have no basis in reality because people at heart are not much different from each other. For example, one fellow student is a 19-yo (white) woman from TX, child of evangelical Trump supporters who loathe anyone who is not Xtian and white like themselves. Two semesters opened her eyes.

That's what you really fear.

Very well put

I went to college for engineering and had very few liberal arts classes. But I learned to respect those who can write well, critical thinking, logic and exposure to a wide variety of ideas that liberal arts brings

 

[Aurora Woman]

Very well put

I went to college for engineering and had very few liberal arts classes. But I learned to respect those who can write well, critical thinking, logic and exposure to a wide variety of ideas that liberal arts brings

Ditto for my husband, who also majored in engineering (industrial, what's your speciality)? He also moved to a large city when he graduated, whereas the rest of his family stayed put near the tiny rural town where they grew up. Surprisingly enough, they have all remained staunchly conservative and uber Christian. </sarcasm> He's a centrist atheist.

 

[Aurora Woman]

The last thing democrats want is questioning of authority or diversity of thought and opinion. History bears this out, and the current attitude and behavior of leftists confirms it.

Really? Is that why metro areas with a diverse population and a lot of college-educated ppl tend to lean heavily towards Dem candidates?

Oops.

 

[rightwinger]

Very well put

I went to college for engineering and had very few liberal arts classes. But I learned to respect those who can write well, critical thinking, logic and exposure to a wide variety of ideas that liberal arts brings

Ditto for my husband, who also majored in engineering (industrial, what's your speciality)? He also moved to a large city when he graduated, whereas the rest of his family stayed put near the tiny rural town where they grew up. Surprisingly enough, they have all remained staunchly conservative and uber Christian. </sarcasm> He's a centrist atheist.

Actually, I majored in Industrial Engineering
Switched to Electronic Engineering once I started working

When I graduated, I was a staunch conservative. Bought in to Supply Side Economics and voted for Reagan and Bush 41 four times

Switched to Democratic in the mid 90s and have mostly supported liberal ideas ever since. I am an atheist not for political reasons but I just don’t buy in to religious claims. My parents were conservative Republicans their whole lives

 

[Aurora Woman]

Actually, I majored in Industrial Engineering
Switched to Electronic Engineering once I started working

When I graduated, I was a staunch conservative. Bought in to Supply Side Economics and voted for Reagan and Bush 41 four times

Switched to Democratic in the mid 90s and have mostly supported liberal ideas ever since. I am an atheist not for political reasons but I just don’t buy in to religious claims. My parents were conservative Republicans their whole lives

Did/do you work in IT? That's what he did till he retired a couple of years ago. Great field. He is an atheist for the same reason; scientifically there's no proof. He doesn't believe in vitamin and herbal supplements and medical MJ for the same reason.

What caused you to switch political allegiance, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[rightwinger]

Actually, I majored in Industrial Engineering
Switched to Electronic Engineering once I started working

When I graduated, I was a staunch conservative. Bought in to Supply Side Economics and voted for Reagan and Bush 41 four times

Switched to Democratic in the mid 90s and have mostly supported liberal ideas ever since. I am an atheist not for political reasons but I just don’t buy in to religious claims. My parents were conservative Republicans their whole lives

Did/do you work in IT? That's what he did till he retired a couple of years ago. Great field. He is an atheist for the same reason; scientifically there's no proof. He doesn't believe in vitamin and herbal supplements and medical MJ for the same reason.

What caused you to switch political allegiance, if you don't mind me asking?

Worked 40 years for DOD in testing

I switched allegiance in the mid 90s with the Newt Gingrich Republicans and driving out of the more liberal voices of the party. To me, the party just seemed mean and uncaring of people in general

 

[Unkotare]

The last thing democrats want is questioning of authority or diversity of thought and opinion. History bears this out, and the current attitude and behavior of leftists confirms it.

Really? Is that why metro areas with a diverse population and a lot of college-educated ppl tend to lean heavily towards Dem candidates?

Oops.

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

 

[Aurora Woman]

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

Fascinating. Evidently you're not too familiar with college. My profs are younger than I am, around the ages of my children (30s and 40s). Warning: Anecdotal experience incoming: Last week in one of my classes the prof asked for opinions about the difference between how we see and treat with elders in our culture, and how elders were treated in indigenous cultures. One young man, age ~20, stood up and went on a rant about how f'd up this country is and how govt is filled with old people who don't give a shit about ppl his age and are f'ing them over and don't understand them and on and on. When he finally wound down, I asked for the floor and told him that he is being a bit unperceptive, so may I help? I said that much of what he said seems true, but that MANY of us old ppl are deeply concerned about the issues that face our kids and grandkids (he's the age of my oldest g-kid lol) and that we are involved in the political process and are actively working to create a better future for them, even though that future seems kinda shitty right now. All this is, of course, paraphrased. One point I brought up was the student loan burden and how different it is from when I was his age, and how much that needs to change because what future do you have when you graduate but owe a debt equal to that of buying a home? The prof then stepped in and said how he encourages free thought and speech and energetic debate, and then several others took the floor too. This from a class with 37 freshmen students (except for me lol), so shy that they seldom speak out loud.

This is the basis of free thought. This is the foundation of learning. This is what America was built upon. This is what conservatives fear the most.

 

[Ray9]

Having never been a fan of recreational or exploratory drug use it’s odd that as I grapple with what’s happening in our society today the song, “Incense and Peppermints” surfaces out of my subconscious. The song was written as a spoof on the psychedelic era afoot in 1967. It was on the B side of another song but ended up a huge hit. The words were hauntingly ahead of their time and half a century later they can be applied to describe the divisive and increasingly violent polarization loose in the public domain:

“To divide this cockeyed world in two, throw your pride to one side, it’s the least you can do. Beatniks and politics, nothing is new. A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view. Who cares what games we choose, little to win, but nothing to lose”.

Does that sound like collegiate inspired political correctness and Antifa politics to you? Think about what’s happening as strident factions are actually in the process of trying to dismantle the Constitution by doing away with the Electoral College among other things. We’ve been living at the foot of a rumbling volcano; we should have seen this coming from a song that heralded: “good sense and innocence cripple mankind”.

I never listened to the words, just the music. I should have paid attention to those words. Some used to burn incense to cover the aroma of marijuana smoke and eat peppermint hide the smell on their breath. I got so stoned once in 1973 that I fell asleep at 50 mph on my motorcycle and went over an embankment, nearly drowning after I slid head first into a creek.

Now it’s medicinal. Fancy that. Do you think people wired on weed and addicted to opioids might be easier to control because as long as their poison is available and affordable they won’t question their circumstances? How much of our government is financed by the opioids flowing in from Mexico?

I remember Jack Mayes telling me in a 1962 Comparative Government class that Soviet Communism, which was a template for globalism, was imposed on the masses because the elites believed the end justified the means. The US government apparently borrowed the lesson and so drugging the poor to keep them in line while submitting to leftist-globalist politics is seen as acceptable as marijuana will soon be legalized.

New taxation will saves us though.

 

[Unkotare]

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

Fascinating. Evidently you're not too familiar with college. ....

Highly familiar.

 

[MarathonMike]

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

Fascinating. Evidently you're not too familiar with college. My profs are younger than I am, around the ages of my children (30s and 40s). Warning: Anecdotal experience incoming: Last week in one of my classes the prof asked for opinions about the difference between how we see and treat with elders in our culture, and how elders were treated in indigenous cultures. One young man, age ~20, stood up and went on a rant about how f'd up this country is and how govt is filled with old people who don't give a shit about ppl his age and are f'ing them over and don't understand them and on and on. When he finally wound down, I asked for the floor and told him that he is being a bit unperceptive, so may I help? I said that much of what he said seems true, but that MANY of us old ppl are deeply concerned about the issues that face our kids and grandkids (he's the age of my oldest g-kid lol) and that we are involved in the political process and are actively working to create a better future for them, even though that future seems kinda shitty right now. All this is, of course, paraphrased. One point I brought up was the student loan burden and how different it is from when I was his age, and how much that needs to change because what future do you have when you graduate but owe a debt equal to that of buying a home? The prof then stepped in and said how he encourages free thought and speech and energetic debate, and then several others took the floor too. This from a class with 37 freshmen students (except for me lol), so shy that they seldom speak out loud.

This is the basis of free thought. This is the foundation of learning. This is what America was built upon. This is what conservatives fear the most.

Such a good post and you had to goober it up at the end. Conservatives welcome real debate and discussion. There just hasn't been much of that for decades. In you opinion what do you think happened to true discourse in this country? What or who changed?

 

[rightwinger]

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

Fascinating. Evidently you're not too familiar with college. My profs are younger than I am, around the ages of my children (30s and 40s). Warning: Anecdotal experience incoming: Last week in one of my classes the prof asked for opinions about the difference between how we see and treat with elders in our culture, and how elders were treated in indigenous cultures. One young man, age ~20, stood up and went on a rant about how f'd up this country is and how govt is filled with old people who don't give a shit about ppl his age and are f'ing them over and don't understand them and on and on. When he finally wound down, I asked for the floor and told him that he is being a bit unperceptive, so may I help? I said that much of what he said seems true, but that MANY of us old ppl are deeply concerned about the issues that face our kids and grandkids (he's the age of my oldest g-kid lol) and that we are involved in the political process and are actively working to create a better future for them, even though that future seems kinda shitty right now. All this is, of course, paraphrased. One point I brought up was the student loan burden and how different it is from when I was his age, and how much that needs to change because what future do you have when you graduate but owe a debt equal to that of buying a home? The prof then stepped in and said how he encourages free thought and speech and energetic debate, and then several others took the floor too. This from a class with 37 freshmen students (except for me lol), so shy that they seldom speak out loud.

This is the basis of free thought. This is the foundation of learning. This is what America was built upon. This is what conservatives fear the most.

Such a good post and you had to goober it up at the end. Conservatives welcome real debate and discussion. There just hasn't been much of that for decades. In you opinion what do you think happened to true discourse in this country? What or who changed?

True discourse has been replaced with talking smack

 

[WheelieAddict]

College kids absolutely the last people to ever question authority. The entire trick to doing well in college, particularly these days, is not questioning authority and obediently regurgitating whatever the hell some fruity old college professor demands you pretend you really believe. It’s pathetic and absolutely devoid of independent thoughts. It takes an extraordinarily strong willed to come out of such an environment with one’s own principles still family intact. The masses of farm animal like people are only too malleable and to eager to become whenever the hell some washed out old hippie wants them to become.

Fascinating. Evidently you're not too familiar with college. My profs are younger than I am, around the ages of my children (30s and 40s). Warning: Anecdotal experience incoming: Last week in one of my classes the prof asked for opinions about the difference between how we see and treat with elders in our culture, and how elders were treated in indigenous cultures. One young man, age ~20, stood up and went on a rant about how f'd up this country is and how govt is filled with old people who don't give a shit about ppl his age and are f'ing them over and don't understand them and on and on. When he finally wound down, I asked for the floor and told him that he is being a bit unperceptive, so may I help? I said that much of what he said seems true, but that MANY of us old ppl are deeply concerned about the issues that face our kids and grandkids (he's the age of my oldest g-kid lol) and that we are involved in the political process and are actively working to create a better future for them, even though that future seems kinda shitty right now. All this is, of course, paraphrased. One point I brought up was the student loan burden and how different it is from when I was his age, and how much that needs to change because what future do you have when you graduate but owe a debt equal to that of buying a home? The prof then stepped in and said how he encourages free thought and speech and energetic debate, and then several others took the floor too. This from a class with 37 freshmen students (except for me lol), so shy that they seldom speak out loud.

This is the basis of free thought. This is the foundation of learning. This is what America was built upon. This is what conservatives fear the most.

Such a good post and you had to goober it up at the end. Conservatives welcome real debate and discussion. There just hasn't been much of that for decades. In you opinion what do you think happened to true discourse in this country? What or who changed?

True discourse has been replaced with talking smack

Didn't you hear bud? Opinion and feelings has become "facts". My highfalutin northeast college education was all a lie.