impossible profession

2 Dec 04

A painfully frustrating quarter, teaching a freshman comp course with the topic “9/11 and After.” So many of my students are knee-jerk right-wingers who equate George W. Bush with Jesus H. Christ. And his War on Terror? A righteous crusade, of course. This despite all the evidence to the contrary.

For example, one student wrote in his final paper as follows:

"After September 11th we went to war with Iraq and Afghanistan. I strongly agree with these actions, and I am completely behind Bush in his decision. If we were attacked, why shouldn’t we go after those responsible? I know people don’t think Iraq had anything to do with it, and we haven’t turned up any weapons of mass destruction. I say they are responsible for the attacks and need to pay for what they have done. I feel that you should be behind what our government does because this is where you live. If you don’t feel safe by what they do then you are in the wrong country."

I could not restrain myself from replying as follows:

"Come on! We live in a democracy where we are supposed to be critical of our politicians: keep an eye on them, and, if they make mistakes, correct them. “My country, right or wrong!” is an ethically indefensible position and not one reasonable people take. If you can’t defend the war in Iraq on the basis of real evidence and on rational grounds, then don’t defend it."

Thus I spoke to the void. The student continued,

"This war against terrorism is a great idea. I didn’t have any family members that died in the trade towers, but I know that if I would have then I would want the war even more. Also, I don’t have any family members in the military, but if I did I would want them to go and fight for our country. I would go and fight in the military, but I have had a life-long dream of becoming an architect and opening my own business. I have even talked to recruiters and they have said that there isn’t an architecture program in the military."

Again, I couldn’t resist. After his last line “Aw shucks!” and then, “So, like Dick Cheney, who took five deferments during the Vietnam war, you have ‘other priorities’ than fighting the war you deem so noble and just?” My point, of course, will be completely lost on the writer. He’s not a very attentive person to begin with, obviously.

Of the forty or so students I have in two sections this quarter, I would say half of these proved to be evidence-proof. By that I mean they did not allow the evidence I supplied that the Iraq war is an unmitigated disaster, both strategically and morally, trouble in the least their faith in the infallibility of their glorious war president and his Big Stick foreign policy.

Dubya, right or wrong!