One of the many lessons learned over the last ten years that really blossomed during the pandemic was the fact that a huge number of college students are rats. Where once universities were a haven for critical thinking, the academe has become one big schoolyard with plenty of bullies.
The "Why?" factor has troubled me. I'm 69 years old an…
One of the many lessons learned over the last ten years that really blossomed during the pandemic was the fact that a huge number of college students are rats. Where once universities were a haven for critical thinking, the academe has become one big schoolyard with plenty of bullies.
The "Why?" factor has troubled me. I'm 69 years old and, as a child, the news of the day was discussed every night at the dinner table. My father's eighth grade education never stopped him from reading the papers, watching the news and asking us questions about what we thought regarding the Vietnam War, local politics, etc. He would voice a position he didn't really hold in order for us to figure out why we felt the way we did.
Have you ever seen a family in a restaurant actually talking to each other? Usually everyone is slouching as they look at their phone or exhibiting horrible table manners. Do we actually expect these surly specimens to break down an issue and defend a position that the mob opposes? I don't!
Yesterday, CEO, Bill Ackman not only demanded Harvard hand over a list of students who signed a letter blaming Israel for the attack but got 12 other CEOs to follow suit. THIS list will cancel these dangerous lemmings; they will not be hired by these companies. There's been a move to fire the President of NYU's law school after the many anti-semitic remarks she's made over time.
Perhaps, these rats and lemmings will learn something from this horrible time. Perhaps their parents need to get acquainted with their children and find out how they feel about important and yes, even trivial issues.
In the meantime, we pray, mourn, donate what we can and stay alert.
Hi - yes, this was my upbringing too. I had a British father and an Australian mother and my dad spent over 25 years traveling the world as a merchant marine. He sadly passed away (way too young) ten years ago, but his interest in world affairs, discussions, and always wanting to learn more are the life lessons that stayed with me and the ones my husband and I try to impart (in an age appropriate way at the moment) with our 8 year old daughter. Growing up the news would be on in the background and as my brother and I went through high school those discussions became more detailed and informative. My parents are what I would describe as Centre Left. They were always supporting us to figure out our positions on things, but some issues (such as racism, genocide) were not tolerated. They and my American in laws (I would called them slightly right of centre right) could sit down at the table and have an honest and open discussion about many topics without it devolving into claims of hurt feelings and my way or the high way. Maybe it's a generational thing? Regardless, we're doing our best to encourage discussion, debate, and learning within our small family unit.
It is a generational thing, in that for a couple of generations now, we have taught young people not to solve their own issues and instead turn to an authority figure to solve it for them. As such, they have no coping mechanisms for stress or conflict. This is why they need safe spaces and think words are violence. They have built up no resistance to anything actually painful or difficult, so even the smallest things seem like disasters to them. Including disagreements.
One of the many lessons learned over the last ten years that really blossomed during the pandemic was the fact that a huge number of college students are rats. Where once universities were a haven for critical thinking, the academe has become one big schoolyard with plenty of bullies.
The "Why?" factor has troubled me. I'm 69 years old and, as a child, the news of the day was discussed every night at the dinner table. My father's eighth grade education never stopped him from reading the papers, watching the news and asking us questions about what we thought regarding the Vietnam War, local politics, etc. He would voice a position he didn't really hold in order for us to figure out why we felt the way we did.
Have you ever seen a family in a restaurant actually talking to each other? Usually everyone is slouching as they look at their phone or exhibiting horrible table manners. Do we actually expect these surly specimens to break down an issue and defend a position that the mob opposes? I don't!
Yesterday, CEO, Bill Ackman not only demanded Harvard hand over a list of students who signed a letter blaming Israel for the attack but got 12 other CEOs to follow suit. THIS list will cancel these dangerous lemmings; they will not be hired by these companies. There's been a move to fire the President of NYU's law school after the many anti-semitic remarks she's made over time.
Perhaps, these rats and lemmings will learn something from this horrible time. Perhaps their parents need to get acquainted with their children and find out how they feel about important and yes, even trivial issues.
In the meantime, we pray, mourn, donate what we can and stay alert.
Hi - yes, this was my upbringing too. I had a British father and an Australian mother and my dad spent over 25 years traveling the world as a merchant marine. He sadly passed away (way too young) ten years ago, but his interest in world affairs, discussions, and always wanting to learn more are the life lessons that stayed with me and the ones my husband and I try to impart (in an age appropriate way at the moment) with our 8 year old daughter. Growing up the news would be on in the background and as my brother and I went through high school those discussions became more detailed and informative. My parents are what I would describe as Centre Left. They were always supporting us to figure out our positions on things, but some issues (such as racism, genocide) were not tolerated. They and my American in laws (I would called them slightly right of centre right) could sit down at the table and have an honest and open discussion about many topics without it devolving into claims of hurt feelings and my way or the high way. Maybe it's a generational thing? Regardless, we're doing our best to encourage discussion, debate, and learning within our small family unit.
It is a generational thing, in that for a couple of generations now, we have taught young people not to solve their own issues and instead turn to an authority figure to solve it for them. As such, they have no coping mechanisms for stress or conflict. This is why they need safe spaces and think words are violence. They have built up no resistance to anything actually painful or difficult, so even the smallest things seem like disasters to them. Including disagreements.
hit the nail on the head!
The world needs more parents like you and your husband. God bless.