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
May
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May 25
We left Greenville around noon. Our hotel reservations were in Clarksville, TN which is on the north side of Nashville. There was lots of traffic on the roads. In fact, several times the traffic would stop for several minutes for no apparent reason. We stayed in an Econo Lodge that had a bed as soft as a hardwood floor. No one slept very well, and we woke up with aching backs and necks.
May 26
We drove 4 ½ hours to St. Louis. We stopped first at the zoo. Andrew was able to use his new camera to take lots of pictures (see the gallery for pictures). The zoo is free, but you have to pay for parking. Fortunately (unfortunately?), the zoo parking lots were full, so we parked for free and walked about a mile to the zoo. Time was short, but we enjoyed most of the animals. It’s a lot better than the Greenville Zoo.
We stopped at the Days Inn to put our belongings away before going to the Arch. At the Arch, we watched a film (on an old filmstrip — which took me back to Elementary school days with the picture quality) about the construction of the Arch. Our tickets to the top were for 7:10. Now, you don’t get to go up the arch at the listed time, but you get to start the process. At 7:10 we were admitted onto a ramp. We stopped there for about 10 minutes and were assigned a tram car. Then we went a little further where we waited another 10 minutes. Again we went a little further to wait another 10 minutes. And finally we went to the tram platform where we waited another 10 minutes. The tram is so tiny you touch the knees of the other 4 people stuffed inside. The top of the arch was very crowded as well. It was cloudy out, but we could still see pretty well. We enjoyed looking out both sides. (See photos.)
We left the arch around 9pm and went to get dinner. We stopped at Denny’s where the service was very slow. Exhausted, but full, we went back to the hotel where we tried to get three more sets of towels. They had only one set left. The beds were more comfortable, so we all slept much better, in spite of all the potential distractions. Maybe we were just beat.
May 27
The continental breakfast (pastries and cereal) was basically non-existent by the time we went at 9:30, so we had orange juice for breakfast. We went to Open Door Bible Church down the road. The pastor was a BJ grad and the people in the church were very friendly.
After church we got lunch at Jack In the Box, and then hit the road on the way to St. Joseph, MO. About halfway across Missouri, we hit a thunderstorm. It rained really hard for a couple of minutes (we slowed to 35 mph), and rained some more over the next 50 miles or so. It wasn’t bad driving, but it was slower than usual.
In St. Joseph, we went to a couple of parks after checking into the hotel (much nicer than the St. Louis hotel). The Riverfront Park was closed and kind of dumpy. We went to Krug Park, which was much nicer.
At the moment, we are sitting back in the hotel using the wireless Internet to post pictures and stories. Tomorrow is the long day of driving – some 650 miles to Rapid City, SD.
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[...] See the gallery for pictures of the zoo and arch. For more detail, read my brother and sister-in-law’s blog. [...]