Letter about real freedom…
To the Editor,
I write as a counterpoint to Jeff Erding’s recent abysmal screed. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison,and Monroe were all Deists who thought human reason was the best way forward for America. Twice Mr. Erding states that Palestinian demonstrators in America are in support of Hamas. Certainly some demonstrators either support or sympathize with Hamas, but many, and probably most, are simply demonstrating their horror over 14,000-plus dead Palestinians and/or dead Israelites or both.
Mr. Erding, are you lacking in common sense and critical thinking that you did not realize this? Or are you lying and misleading people into thinking there’s something wrong with our higher education system? Certainly you are pushing hatred toward Palestinians.
Higher education’s main mission is to foster debate and discussion and teach critical thinking. We need to throw off the hate and repression that has always been a part of America. Good ol’ white Christians were behind the theft of civil rights for Blacks for a full century after the Civil War. Many white Christians attack the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Many wish to take away the right of a woman to control her own body. And now they attack “leftist” colleges. Whose freedom will they go after next?
For conservative Christians, or more accurately, for some conservative so-called Christians the great difficulty and hypocrisy that they refuse to deal with is the fact that Jesus was clearly a liberal. So instead of dealing with “the log in their own eye,” “turn the other cheek,” and “do good to them that hate you,” a great many have settled on simply hating “the other.” The other is ever so handy for them. It can be Palestinians, leftists, immigrants, for example, and the list is potentially endless.
Greg Rendahl
Gerald J. Boyum says
Greg,
Either you are extremely naive, or you are deliberately spreading misinformation about what’s going on in the Middle East and in our universities. For example:
1. Demonstrators in American universities, cities, and elsewhere are displaying signs with: “The River to the Sea”, a phrase used by HAMAS that refers to the eastern and western borders of Israel. In other words, they are calling for the complete destruction of Israel which includes extermination of all the Jews (genocide). Even though the Israeli Defense Forces are on the offensive now with the objective of driving HAMAS out of Gaza, their leaders have stated that “we’ll be back again and again. They will never stop until they are completely destroyed, and all :”cease fires” help them to rebuild their forces and military position.
2. Why do the Muslims, in this case, Arabs hate the Jews? Its a religious issue, the most dangerous one: “Ideas have consequences and spiritual/religious ones have tremendous consequences! In this case, as long as Israel exists, it is providing proof of the truth of the Bible. As matter of fact when Israel declared itself as a sovereign nation in May 1948, it was attacked by five Arab nations. However, Israel, with a little divine help and support from the United States and other countries, prevailed as they have in other attempts of Arabs to destroy them. Iran, in particular, remains as the most dangerous threat to Israel and Western nations. If they are able to acquire nuclear weapons and means to deliver them, they will use them against Israel. Now, the Saudis (Sunni Moslems) supposedly either have nuclear weapons or are working to obtain them as a response to the Iranian threat (Shiites Muslims). The division between the two Muslim religions started after the death of Mohamoud in the 7th century and has been ongoing ever since. This is why Pres. Trump was able to get the Saudis (Arabs) to negotiate with Israel because they viewed Iran as a greater threat. That is most likely why the Iranians encouraged their “proxy: HAMAS to attack Israel- according to Iran’s leaders: we can’t allow the Saudis and Israel to get too friendly!
3. The first universities were originally founded, mostly by churches, to search for truth and train ministers. Harvard’s logo contains the word “Veritas” on its logo which is Latin for “Truth”. Talk about mission creep”!
4. It would seem that Jeff Erding and I are not alone in mentioning what’s going on in many universities now; i.e.,, “Higher Education Has Become a Threat to America” Our corrupt, radical universities feed every scourge from censorship and crime to antisemitism.” by John Ellis and ‘Defund the rot’ Congress eyes elite universities’ endowments amid antisemitism probe” by Lydia Moyhihan, Dec. 14, 2023, It should also be noted that wealthy donors have indicated that they will no longer be will be donating for the universities until they clean up the antisemitism in their schools. Antisemitism has been going on for some time now- it didn’t just appear suddenly. Many of their departments are nothing more than seminaries for leftism, and radical l leftists/socialists consider capitalism, and religion as enemies preventing their realization of their utopian paradise, The United States and Israel are two of the major proponents of capitalism.
5. Congress called the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn. State in to ask them why they hadn’t done anything about the problem of Jewish students being threatened at their schools. Congressional members recommended that they should be fired because of their refusal to outright condemn genocide against Jews. One president has resigned so far.
Thomas E.H. says
@Gerald J. Boyum
//1. Demonstrators in American universities, cities, and elsewhere are displaying signs with: “The River to the Sea”, a phrase used by HAMAS that refers to the eastern and western borders of Israel. In other words, they are calling for the complete destruction of Israel which includes extermination of all the Jews (genocide). Even though the Israeli Defense Forces are on the offensive now with the objective of driving HAMAS out of Gaza, their leaders have stated that “we’ll be back again and again. They will never stop until they are completely destroyed, and all :”cease fires” help them to rebuild their forces and military position.//
Answered in another thread. Also, Hamas did not have as much support from the civilians of Palestine as of late. The loss of thousands of children from bombs, collapsing buildings, lack of healthcare, food supplies, and shelter from the Israelis has bolstered more support for Hamas, not less.
40% of those killed in Gaza have been children. Put yourself in the shoes of an ordinary Palestinian who did NOT vote for Hamas years and years ago. Hamas commits a terrible atrocity. You had nothing to do with it. But then in response, all of your friends are killed. All of your children are killed. All of your brothers and sisters are killed… all while sheltering in places of worship, schools, or in their own homes. And now you’re starving to death because you have absolutely 0 independence from the nation that surrounds you. Given this situation, how would you feel? Sure, blame Hamas for the start of this. Absolutely. But would you say that “Hey, the loss of all my family was the price, and Hamas must hold all the blame.” After 20,000 deaths? Is %40 of those deaths being children… reasonable to you? Measured? Or would you be thinking “From the River to the Sea…”? Walk a mile in their shoes.
//2. Why do the Muslims, in this case, Arabs hate the Jews? It’s a religious issue, the most dangerous one: “Ideas have consequences and spiritual/religious ones have tremendous consequences! In this case, as long as Israel exists, it is providing proof of the truth of the Bible. As matter of fact when Israel declared itself as a sovereign nation in May 1948, it was attacked by five Arab nations. However, Israel, with a little divine help and support from the United States and other countries, prevailed as they have in other attempts of Arabs to destroy them. Iran, in particular, remains as the most dangerous threat to Israel and Western nations. If they are able to acquire nuclear weapons and means to deliver them, they will use them against Israel. Now, the Saudis (Sunni Moslems) supposedly either have nuclear weapons or are working to obtain them as a response to the Iranian threat (Shiites Muslims). The division between the two Muslim religions started after the death of Mohamoud in the 7th century and has been ongoing ever since. This is why Pres. Trump was able to get the Saudis (Arabs) to negotiate with Israel because they viewed Iran as a greater threat. That is most likely why the Iranians encouraged their “proxy: HAMAS to attack Israel- according to Iran’s leaders: we can’t allow the Saudis and Israel to get too friendly!//
What about the formation of Israel to begin with? Regardless of their religion, could the loss of homeland be enough to cause outrage? Throw in the religious significance of the site. It’s an incredibly holy place for 3 major world religions. Placing control of it with one religion in the age of nuclear warfare was short-sighted.
//3. The first universities were originally founded, mostly by churches, to search for truth and train ministers. Harvard’s logo contains the word “Veritas” on its logo which is Latin for “Truth”. Talk about mission creep”!//
Imagine where the world would be without the Universities of the last 60 years. Most of what you enjoy daily in life, that which you take for granted, would not exist.
//4. It would seem that Jeff Erding and I are not alone in mentioning what’s going on in many universities now; i.e.,, “Higher Education Has Become a Threat to America” Our corrupt, radical universities feed every scourge from censorship and crime to antisemitism.” by John Ellis and ‘Defund the rot’ Congress eyes elite universities’ endowments amid antisemitism probe” by Lydia Moyhihan, Dec. 14, 2023, It should also be noted that wealthy donors have indicated that they will no longer be will be donating for the universities until they clean up the antisemitism in their schools. Antisemitism has been going on for some time now- it didn’t just appear suddenly. Many of their departments are nothing more than seminaries for leftism, and radical l leftists/socialists consider capitalism, and religion as enemies preventing their realization of their utopian paradise, The United States and Israel are two of the major proponents of capitalism.//
Baloney. Of course you’re not alone. You aren’t the people who are coming up with these ideas. You couldn’t, because you don’t attend Universities to know what’s going on in them. The only way you have your ideas regarding Universities is because you were told to attribute problems x, y, and z with them, regardless of veracity. In other words, you’re parroting without primary sources. Now, come up with an original thought from observation… then you can say what you’ve said.
//5. Congress called the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn. State in to ask them why they hadn’t done anything about the problem of Jewish students being threatened at their schools. Congressional members recommended that they should be fired because of their refusal to outright condemn genocide against Jews. One president has resigned so far.//
Jewish students aren’t the only students threatened at their schools. Muslims are threatened, too. Homosexuals, trans, black, Hispanic, women, atheists. Teachers. The fact is, minorities, in general, are typically seen as outsiders. Should these administrators stand up for all students? Yes. Should they stand up for free speech? Yes. But they are walking the fine line between freedom of speech and protecting students. What’s more important to you, Gerald? Freedom? Or safety?
Gerald J. Boyum says
1. It’s interesting to note that you brought up all the casualties, including children, from the war in the Middle East which were, in most cases, collateral casualties. Of course, the Palestinians have suffered greatly, and various attempts at resolving this issue have been made, However, all proposals, including an independent, sovereign nation, which were accepted by Israel, were rejected by the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, who seemed to thrive on chaos. Blame could also be directed at other Arab states which, to them, the Palestine problem has provided the glue for holding the Arab world together. and its resolution would deprive them of influence there.
Benajmin Netanyahu: “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.”
If the Israelis laid down their weapons, there would be no Israel.!
2. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on since Feb 2022. From “War Crimes by Russia’s Forces in Ukraine”. “We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals. critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers. and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded.”.
I must have missed your comments about the civilian suffering and casualties in Ukraine which were caused by the Russians, in many cases, deliberately.
3. “…. then you can say what you’ve said.’ One of the most ridiculous and false statement that I’ve ever encountered which is intended on shutting down an exchange of ideas and attacking the messenger instead of dealing with the message. It would mean that the only valid knowledge is that which is acquired firsthand while ignoring the research and firsthand experiences of all others. Talk about going back to the Stone Age and earlier- whoops, shouldn’t say that because I haven’t been in the Stone Age!
4. Now, using your logic, I guess your comments about the Palestinians come from your extensive time that you’ve lived in that region, right?
5. Freedom vs. Safety. It would depend on the situation. When any one of us is safe, we can think about such things as freedom, which by the way, is defined by conservatives as freedom from government intrusion whereas the radical left defines it as freedom from moral constraints. If a person is being attacked by a grizzly bear, what do you suppose that person’s highest priority would be?
6. “Jewish students aren’t the only students …” True but put up the percentages for each group and they will show that Jewish students are overwhelmingly feeling threatened at their schools.
Gerald J. Boyum says
So you attempt to counter Erding’s comments with questionable comments in almost every sentence?
1. Several founders may not have been technically Christians. For example, Thomas Jefferson did not believe in Jesus’ deity, a central part of Christianity’ however, all of them were Creationists. If they were true Deists, why would any of them pray to God.
2. “…Palestinian demonstrators are in support of Hamas.” What would you call the many demonstrators at universities and cities who displayed signs with slogans that came directly from Hamas, “From the river to the sea.”? It calls for the complete destruction of Israel because the Jordan River is Israel’s eastern border, and its western border is the Mediterranean Sea. Nope. calling for and supporting genocide isn’t a problem? “Never again” seems to be conveniently forgotten.
3. Most of our universities were founded on the search for truth, passing it to following generations, and training students to become ministers. In fact, the motto of Harvard is still on their signs which is “Veritus”, Latin for truth. In “Higher Ed Has Become a Threat to America”, with a subtitle of “Our corrupt, radical universities feed every scourge from censorship and crime to antisemitism.” To the list of calamities provided, the author states that “To these has been added an outbreak of virulent antisemitism.”
“Every one of these degradations can be traced wholly or in large part to a single source: the corruption of higher education by radical political activists.”
When the presidents were called to testify before a Congressional Committee, their responses to questions about the lack of safety for Jewish students at their universities required some time even though they had a week’s notice. At any rate, one resigned after the recommendation was made that they should all resign. Several wealthy donors had already withdrawn their donations to these universities.
The author ends with “The biggest threat to our future isn’t climate change, China or the national debt. It is the tyrannical grip that a hopelessly. corrupt higher education now has on our national life. If we don’t stop it now, it will eventually destroy the most successful society in world history..”
If any good comes from the current Israeli war, along with the complete defeat of Isreal’s current enemies, it is shining a light on our current education system. Our legislatures should be paying close to what’s going on there because they have to deal with the consequences of ideas promoted in our education system, and they are the link between our education system and “we the people” who are paying the bills.
Thomas E.H. says
@Gerald J. Boyum
//1. Several founders may not have been technically Christians. For example, Thomas Jefferson did not believe in Jesus’ deity, a central part of Christianity’ however, all of them were Creationists.//
Irrelevant, as the scientific fields of geology and biology were in their infancy.
//If they were true Deists, why would any of them pray to God.//
Did they pray? Literally? Or was it a figure of speech? I know many atheists who still say “bless you” after someone sneezes. That doesn’t mean they secretly think the soul is being lost out the nose, or some other nonsense. In other words, social conditioning.
//2. “…Palestinian demonstrators are in support of Hamas.” What would you call the many demonstrators at universities and cities who displayed signs with slogans that came directly from Hamas, “From the river to the sea.”? It calls for the complete destruction of Israel because the Jordan River is Israel’s eastern border, and its western border is the Mediterranean Sea. Nope. calling for and supporting genocide isn’t a problem? “Never again” seems to be conveniently forgotten.//
“From the River to the Sea” means two different things to two different peoples. Should Palestinians (who all live west of the Jordan, be free people? Palestinians sure would like freedom (Americans should know that fervor). On the other hand, Israelis (generalising here), are more likely to take the phrase to mean the complete obliteration of the Jewish state. Not everyone who uses “From the River to the Sea” is suggesting the obliteration of Israel. There is no requirement that the default understanding of meaning of that phrase must come from the Jewish perspective.
//3. Most of our universities were founded on the search for truth, passing it to following generations, and training students to become ministers. In fact, the motto of Harvard is still on their signs which is “Veritus”, Latin for truth. In “Higher Ed Has Become a Threat to America”, with a subtitle of “Our corrupt, radical universities feed every scourge from censorship and crime to antisemitism.” To the list of calamities provided, the author states that “To these has been added an outbreak of virulent antisemitism.”
“Every one of these degradations can be traced wholly or in large part to a single source: the corruption of higher education by radical political activists.”
When the presidents were called to testify before a Congressional Committee, their responses to questions about the lack of safety for Jewish students at their universities required some time even though they had a week’s notice. At any rate, one resigned after the recommendation was made that they should all resign. Several wealthy donors had already withdrawn their donations to these universities.//
When GOPers are called to testify before the people of America regarding automatic or semi-automatic weapons and the lack of safety to ordinary elementary students, they say that more guns is the answer. In truth, those with a higher level of education are generally more liberal in life and vote. This is arguably the primary source for the GOP’s attack on education systems from beginning to end.
Gerald J. Boyum says
You don’t have to include comments in their entirety- just enough to identify which issue you’re going to address.
1. “Irrelevant, as scientific fields of geology and biology were in their infancy.” So, you are claiming that science has provided explanations for the fundamental questions of the origins of the universe and humans? Most scientists agree that the universe had a beginning. If it had a beginning, it had a Beginner according to the Law of Causality. To doubt this fundamental law would be to cast doubt on all of scientific research which is centered around the searches for causes. Also, the Laws of Thermodynamics indicate that the universe could not be eternal because an eternal universe would have used up all of its potential energy and suffered what is known as “heat death” (absolute zero or zero molecular motion).
OK, go right ahead and explain the origins of the universe and us humans with our unique attributes of high order intelligence, sense of moral values, and conscientiousness in the absence of a supernatural Creator. It should also be noted that Albert Einstein’s calculations in his General Theory of Relativity confirmed that time, matter, and space came into existence simultaneously as indicated in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning (time), God created the heaven (space) and earth (matter). Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them.
2. “Did they pray? Literally? Or was it a figure of speech?”. By these questions, you are revealing a lack of what most of us learned in elementary schools, at least back when I was there. At any rate, a quick look into the Internet would have answered this question and the first one for that matter. From the question “Did the founding fathers value God and prayer?
“Here are some examples of their prayers: In 1777, the Continental Congress appointed a day of prayer and summoned Americans to ‘penitent confession of their manifold sins. and humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot (their transgressions) out of remembrance.”.
In 1787, Benjamin Franklin moved that prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessings on their deliberations be held in the Assembly every morning before they proceed to business.”
Anonymous says
Let me guess, the book is rules for radicals.
Gerald J. Boyum says
Interesting that you should mention “Rules For Radicals” written by Saul Alinsky, Both Obama and Hillary Clinton were quite familiar with this book. Alinsky also wrote an article, “How To Create A Socialist State”:
“There are eight levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a socialist state. The first is the most important.” I’ve listed the top six items. Recognize any of these items when looking at past and current political party activities?
1. “Healthcare-Control healthcare and you control the people.” Emphasis on Obamacare and single payer healthcare…
2.” Poverty…Increase the poverty level as high as possible.”
3. “Debt– Increase the debt to an unsustainable level.” Interest payments could be leading to default.
4. ” Gun Control… Remove people’s ability to defend themselves from the Government.”
5.” Education. Take control of what people read and listen to.–take control of what children learn in school.”
6. “Class Warfare…Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor.” Or oppressor and oppressed.
Thomas E.H. says
@ Gerald J. Boyum
//1. “Healthcare-Control healthcare and you control the people.” Emphasis on Obamacare and single payer healthcare…//
So, right now, private companies control the people. I’d rather that elected (and therefore able to be thrown out of office) officials provide monetary assistance to aid in the affordability of healthcare while privately or publicly trained professionals actually do the verb healthcare. If the GOP wants less government control, then perhaps Single-payer under the GOP would be good, because they won’t control people. Right?
//2.” Poverty…Increase the poverty level as high as possible.”//
To form dependence on the government? People vote, so that’s a deterrent.
//3. “Debt– Increase the debt to an unsustainable level.” Interest payments could be leading to default.//
Both parties do this in their own ways. One party increases it by providing assistance to all Americans. Another party does this by decreasing the taxes (permanently) on the wealthiest of Americans. This also isn’t solely an American problem.
//4. ” Gun Control… Remove people’s ability to defend themselves from the Government.”//
“Well-regulated militia” is not the same as anyone who wants a gun for any reason can have one.
//5.” Education. Take control of what people read and listen to.–take control of what children learn in school.”//
I agree. The GOP wants to control which books can be allowed in and out instead of letting professionals make the determinations, as is their practice.
//6. “Class Warfare…Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor.” Or oppressor and oppressed.//
Rich people love the “class warfare” argument.
What were the other two items not listed?
Gerald J. Boyum says
1. The two items are:
Welfare- Take control of every aspect of people’s lives (Food, Housing, and Income.)- in line with Lenin’s “eliminate the Middle Class.”.
Religion- Remove the belief in God from the Government, Public Square, and schools. Our government is supposed to remain neutral on this issue, however, attempting to eliminate religious teachings in schools and from the public square is not neutral. It fits the radical Leftist position of No Competition allowed.
2. Give examples of how the GOP controls what books can be read when the Leftist teachers’ unions control what’s in the curricula of our public schools, and when many college departments are nothing more than seminaries for Leftism. When I started teaching at a public school, the veteran teachers complained about the “dumbing down” of course content. High schools were originally started as prep schools for college-bound students who had to pass tests that were given upon completion of 8th grade- England still does that, and students who failed the test were directed towards technical areas like electricians, plumbers, etc. By the way, the educrats had it right when our parents, grandparents, etc. went to school- emphasis on individual skills like reading (literacy) writing, and arithmetic (numeracy), American history, etc. and they were no dummies! And their penmanship and spelling were close to perfect, along with the ability to do simple arithmetic in their heads. Those of us can remember doing multiplication tables over and over again, sort of as punishment for misdeeds. Generally speaking, teachers’ values were similar to parents’ values. Then came the “reformers” like the Leftist and atheist John Dewey who is considered to be the “father of progressive education” with emphasis more on “feelings” and less or nothing on repetition, religious values, American history, and objective truth. The reason these radical Leftists hate America is that it provides real world refutations of their made-made utopia.! Liberals who supported these Leftists but knew very little about what the Communists were labelled as “useful idiots” by Stalin and Lenin.
3. Yeah, let the “professionals ” like John Dewey and other radical Leftists determine what children are being taught! It’s interesting to note that Dewey spent some time in the Soviet Union trying out his education philosophy on Russian students. When Stalin saw the poor results, he immediately cancelled Dewey’s program. Not surprising, radical Leftists have a “reverse Midas touch which turns gold into trash” as it has failed (communism/socialism) whenever it’s been tried in the real world such as in the Soviet Union, Eastern European countries before the wall was torn down, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, etc. Over 100 million people were killed by their communist/socialist government in the 20th century alone, along with millions more who were condemned to live in misery and poverty. BTW, we have to build walls to prevent people from coming here illegally; the Communists had to build walls to keep people from “voting with their feet!”
It also should be noted that the radical Leftists consider our children as “belonging to the State” and parents should have no say in what they are being taught. That what the ruckus in Virginia was about. Mussolini would have been right at home at those meetings! Yes, vote Democrat (socialist) and make the counter revolution to the greatest experiment in government which was conducted by the Founding Fathers in the 18th Century a reality!
Donna Halvorsen says
Thanks again, Greg Rendahl, for your knowledge of history and critical thinking skills.
I’m wondering if Jeff goes to church. If so, is it a “Christian” church? If so, does the pastor welcome everyone, which I thought was the point of Christianity and pastoral service? Or does the pastor ban so-called leftists? What is a leftist? Can a Christian be a leftist, a leftist a Christian? Here’s the answer: for Jeff they’re “the other,” people he doesn’t like because they don’t look like him and are not as smart as he is. But, as Greg points out, Jeff is lacking in critical thinking. He calls himself a “journalist” on Muck Rack, but I wonder what journalism school he went to because his diatribes are short on facts. I can loan him a book so he can bone up.