Posted on 06/04/2006 10:31:03 AM PDT by joeclarke
C-SPAN aired a repeat appearance of Mr. Chumpsky at West Point Military Academy April 20. Chomsky was evidently invited by a gushing West Point philosophy professor, Robert Tully, who had such reverence for Noam that I wondered why my tax dollars were supporting such an America hater as Chomsky as well as the salary for the leftist professor at West Point.
The young, impressionable cadets offered Chomsky a little bit extra applause and a gift at the end of his address. The speech seemed shorter than the overly ingratiating introduction given by the anti-military West Point professor Tully.
Chomsky blasted the U.S. for provoking the Japanese prior to WW II, belittled the good intentions of the Bush administration for entering Iraq, and generally promoted that other awful waste of tax money - the United Nations - as being the only means of salvation for the world. Chomsky, a Jew, went on to denigrate Israel and defend Islam. Chomsky also accused the United States of waging a tyrannical war against Cuba for the past 50 years. Take that to the battlefield, West Point graduates.
Question: Chomsky is an incorrigible America-hating internationalist [someone who insists that the U.S. is always using its superpower status to the detriment of the rest of the world, and the U.S. should be "knocked down a bit" to level the playing field -thus elevating foreign dictators, etc.] but why should this Professor Tully at West Point, who was instrumental in scheduling Chomsky, be sharing his leftism with the Cadets? They can learn how to hate America later - after graduation - from the likes of former Marine General Tony Zinni, John Murtha, or Wesley Clark.
I kind of wonder why West Point even has a Philosophy professor!
Failed States
larger image
Product ID: 192376-1
Format: Speech
Event Date: April 20, 2006
Location: West Point, New York
Last Aired: May 29, 2006
Length: 57 minutes
Sponsors:
U.S. Military Academy
Appearances:
Chomsky, Noam - Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Linguistics
Tully, Robert - Professor, U.S. Military Academy, Philosophy
Summary:
Noam Chomsky talked about his book Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy, published by Metropolitan Books. The book is about just war theory and the invasion of Iraq. During the talk, Professor Chomsky criticized the work of Michael Walzer, an influential proponent of just war theory and the author of the popular book Just and Unjust Wars. Following his remarks, Professor Chomsky took questions from the West Point cadets in the audience about international law and the Bush administration's foreign policy.
http://www.c-spanstore.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&cPath=18_23&products_id=192376-1&template=4
The loyalty of the professor ought to come under intense and complete scrutiny. Why would a professor at a military academy invite the most notorious anti-American, anti-military agitator currently alive?
Even our military educational institutes are not immune from the inanity of liberals/progressives/socialists/communists.
The gushing prof should be drummed out, IMO.
College Education ping list:
Let JamesP81, Jalisco, McVey, or Republicanprofessor know if you want on or off this college ping list.
I am really not so much worried about Chomsky and his ilk--they are so crazed that they really end up talking only to the converted.
I am concerned if the cadets are hearing only one side of the story or only one side of philosophy. I wonder if anyone on FR knows whether West Point, of all places, takes care to make certain that conservative views also have a presence among their professoriate.
McVey
Fifth Column alive and well in even West Point!!! DISGUSTING!!
These men and women are the best-of-the-best, the brightest and most mentally and intellectually astute that young America has to offer. These kids will be leading others into battle before the next year is out and will be, in the future, the military, corporate and community leaders and policy shapers for their generation with a lasting effect on the nation.
We should applaud the invitation to speak to someone who will test the theories the cadets hold and strengthen them as they perceive the logical and historic failure of political and social theories promulgated by atavistic minds like Chomsky. We do not engage in Orwellian indoctrination at our service academies as several posters suggest is appropriate, we educate in a Socratic manner that orient our officer candidates to think rather than recite, problem solve rather than react by formula and be both smart and intelligent rather than robotic drones.
As for the startled comment wondering why USMA would have a philosophy department: that demonstrates the stark lack of understanding the above description of the education process at work in the academic component of the service academies. The great works and minds throughout history form the intellectual foundation of our officer corps to the same relative extent the knowledge of military history, tactics, seamanship, engineering and weapons forms the technical aspect of officership, or that leadership forms the foundation of their acceptance of the responsibilty and authority for leading others into battle and that physical fitness is the basis for their ability to sustain operations. To suggest that philosophy is less than necessary for a well-rounded, fully educated and ready to assume command officer corps is to totally lack any understanding of why we're the best, most effective officer corps the world has ever seen.
He's there to teach them a lesson in the first rule of war.
This isn't about free speech or academic freedom, it's about good judgement vs. poor judgement. Cadets can get the Chomsky line daily from almost any major American newspaper, all the broadcast networks, CNN, MSNBC, and most motion pictures produced in Hollywood - there's no need to invite him to speak at West Point (with honorarium, of course) in order to have them confront his odious theories.
It's not about trusting the cadets... I do trust them. Their professors, on the other hand, I do not. And I certainly don't want our future leaders' time to be wasted by giving them yet another Communist lecturer to expound on theories proven wrong by the collapse of the Soviet Union, nor our tax dollars spent on such an individual's "services".
Middie,
Your words sum up what I was thinking as I was reading the article. Remember, some of the reactions written here to this article are very similar, if not the same, as the reaction to Dr. Condi Rice by a few students as she spoke at Boston College, and remember what Dr.Rice said at the commencement (I'm paraphrasing): Take a position on an issue then find someone who disagrees with your position.
Kneejerk reactions and dogman should not be tolerated here. Remember, we are the people of ideas.
I couldn't agree more with Middie. The more you know is the more you know and the ability to discrimanate between bad reasoning and good can most efficiently be learned in classes that require that as an everyday exercise.
As I indicated earlier, the only we have to worry about is whether our cadets are hearing only one view.
McVey
Normally I'd be flipping out about such a thing, but when the very sovereignty of the country these young people will be risking their lives for, is meanwhile, being sold out from under them, somehow Chomsky pales in comparison.
Know thy enemy
Re 9: Your post is an island of sanity in a sea of hysteria.
Just to add another thought. A couple days ago a post indicated that some officers were in listening range of a couple of ditzy dames who were trashing the military and President Bush. A war wife also heard the trashing and took a moment to shut these two ignorant women down. Afterwards, the military men told her how much they appreciated her response because they were forbidden to get into political debates with civilians. I wonder if the same rules of engagement apply to West Point cadets and speakers. Perhaps the reaction of the cadets and other faculty had nothing to do with their true feelings and more to do with compliance with school speaker hosting rules.
Hooah well said.
I was at this lecture, as I was a cadet in that Philosophy class. Chomsky pretty much babbled pointlessly, and everyone thought as much.
It's ridiculous to think that cadets can't sniff bullsh*t out where they find it (and reactions like the above are reasons I don't post on FR much at all any more).
You are one of the few and the best of American youth. Being chosen to, in your case, join the Long Grey Line is an honor that a miniscule few know (of course, down in Anappolis we have a certain amount of history too). You will never regret and you'll always be grateful for the opportunity to serve and lead others in accomplishment of the mission.
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