Web Browsing- Professors' Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not - NYTimes.com 3 November 2008Do liberal faculty affect the political leanings of students? These people say no. But let's look a little deeper. One author says "it is really hard to change the mind of anyone over 15." Does this mean that the average American thinks about politics now the same way he did when he was 15? Yikes. It appears to imply that political opinions are not firmly rooted in ideas, but in feelings and prejudices. The article also suggests that the real problem is that students aren't actually being educated. They aren't getting the "good stuff." In fact, this may be the root of the problem. Even if students don't buy the liberalism of their teachers, they don't get much else either. Notable deficiencies appear in political and military history, especially of the West, but also include traditional literary criticism (and probably content), civics, and economics.
- Obama, Shaman by Michael Knox Beran, City Journal Summer 2008 3 November 2008Beran brilliant combines culture, religion, and literature into a powerful commentary on the religious aspects of Barack Obama's candidacy. The article is rich (and lengthy), but certainly worth digesting.
- Obama and the Politics of Crowds - WSJ.com 30 October 2008Fouad Ajami offers a rich and culturally insightful glimpse into Senator Obama's magic. He draws upon broad themes and key historical features of American cultural history to make his case for caution. Perhaps most telling is his observation about an American distinctive. Whereas the rest of the world champions equality, American has championed liberty. Obama offers the former, and the current financial panic has suspended Americans' faith in the latter. Consequently, we are on the verge of electing someone who inspires in the way a relgious leader, a messiah, does. But the religious hype quickly fades and people realize too late that they have been fleeced.
- America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree - Chronicle.com 24 October 2008Chronicle of Higher Ed points out the pointlessness of most bachelor's degrees.
- Professors' Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not - NYTimes.com 3 November 2008
Aug
9
Olympic NBC
Filed Under Random Thoughts | Leave a Comment
It is just me, or is NBC’s Olympic TV coverage bizarre?
I think the TV offerings made the rounds in the blogosphere four years ago, and again two years ago. They claim to offer “every event.” We hardly expect it to be live, but they end up putting half of the events on the cable channels and limiting the network offerings to a few popular medal events, generously peppered with “human interest” stories and heavily marinated in commercials.
To make things a little worse, their online coverage appears to be extremely sketchy. In order to view any of the popular events (things they’d show in prime time), you have to have a subscription to an appropriate cable/satellite provider. Sure, they’ll let you watch some of the minor1 events online. They probably don’t want to bother with those events on the TV.
In our case, we don’t have a TV and certainly don’t have cable. We do have high speed Internet access, but again, very few events are available online. We apparently won’t even be able to watch them after the fact. I’m sure there’s some intelligent explanation for that, but one occasionally gets the impression that NBC is paying a lot of money to keep American viewers glued to the appropriate channel (with it’s commercials).
Ok. I’ll stop whining. But allow me a comment about the nature of TV coverage.
China is getting a lot of flak for its various human rights2 abuses. The amount of coverage regarding the Chinese government’s Internet filtering and other media controls has been comical. However, Americans watching the Olympics are subjected to countless advertisements pitching all of the wares of Vanity Fair. Advertisers spend millions for the opportunity to make viewers covet their product, thereby commercializing an event which strives to be above commercializing influences. I don’t necessarily condone China’s censorious practices, and there is certainly plenty of commercialization there too, but Americans–especially Christian Americans–might consider the abuses of “free” commerce and the influence of incessant advertising on our minds.
- Extremely minor. Fascinating as it may be, badminton doesn’t really make the cut for thrilling sporting events. back↩
- I use the term judiciously. Most “human rights” are in fact merely invented by western Europeans in the 18th century and later. back↩