For Mike and others...

On my 9/11 post, we had some comments question me and what I thought about certain things. It has taken me a while--speech therapy, IEP meeting, Sam's Club, Summer Camp Registration--but I am back and ready to get into it now. Oh by the way, it is hotter than the sun here in Rhode Island and I am melting...

One of the questions that ensued from the discussion on the 9/11 Memorial frenzy was whether or not Catholic Colleges were more likely to afford free speech than public colleges. Mike--the guy who asked the question--has some pretty smart sisters who either got scholarships or who owe a lot of money in college loans attended some big name colleges and he says those schools were more likely to have free and open debate than Yale or Harvard.

Can't answer that because there wasn't a chance in hell that I would have gotten into or been able to afford any of those schools. What I can tell you is that I went to a small Catholic College where opinions that conflicted with Catholicism were not met with happy faces.

It didn't stop me from voicing them. It didn't stop me from arguing with faculty and students and priests. I was not intimidated.

I suspect--although I can't back it up--that they don't throw you out of school for voicing your opinion most places. Yes, I know there have been a few instances where kids have failed papers because of the opinion they expressed and not the quality of the scholarship and there has been a lot of discussion about suppression of speech. When that stuff happens it should be recognized as wrong.

However, it is important to note that through out life everyone will have to deal with stupid, difficult and wrong minded people. Odds are these people will be in positions of power--whether they are your boss or your elected officials or your college professors. While this is unfair--life is unfair. Oh well, write your paper the way you want and take the unfair grade or write it the way the professor desires, take the good grade and go out and make the world a better place--either way seems to me that this is political correctness that we can live without.

I hate political correctness in all its forms. I think it is asinine that adults say things like the "N" word. If you are having a conversation about the word then you should be able to say it. I think it is asinine that we are trying to take all sex out of interactions between people. If a man wants to tell me I look nice, I'll take it as a compliment--if he goes too far with his words I'll handle it with my words--if he goes even further I'll handle the situation with my knee placed appropriately in his groin. I think it is asinine to limit what college students can read or say or think--and so when you get all upset about the literature assigned in one of those Liberal Colleges--you bore me. You are wasting my time and yours.

As to the original point--that you don't want the sins of America put on display at Ground Zero--are you saying that America hasn't committed any sins? Where do you guys want these things examined and looked at--because every time someone tries to teach them in high school or college I wind up sitting in front of Fox News watching people scream about America Haters.

One of the great things about this country is that we evolve through our mistakes--we have grown from a country where women and blacks were not equal to a place where they are--is there something wrong with saying that?

As for the memorial at Ground Zero, if we even need one, I think showing the artifacts left over from that day and carving the names of the victims in something should suffice. I think putting buildings up that are just as tall or taller where people go to work everyday would be a real memorial.

Chris

Comments

[Steel]

Yup.

And a nice 'memorial' would be a drive-thru Mosque that served beer and hot links to go.

Maybe some veil clad nymphs wearing roller skates too.

I love this country.