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What It Takes
The New York Times ^ | 5/10/2010 | David Brooks

Posted on 05/11/2010 8:05:28 AM PDT by Beave Meister

About a decade ago, one began to notice a profusion of Organization Kids at elite college campuses. These were bright students who had been formed by the meritocratic system placed in front of them. They had great grades, perfect teacher recommendations, broad extracurricular interests, admirable self-confidence and winning personalities.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: democrats; elenakagan; elenkagan; kagan; obama; scotus; supremecourt
No Kidding.
1 posted on 05/11/2010 8:05:28 AM PDT by Beave Meister
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To: Beave Meister
They regarded professors as bosses to be pleased rather than authorities to be challenged.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Hussein is getting his house in order for when one of the eligibility law suits grows legs and the Supremes have to make a ruling.

2 posted on 05/11/2010 8:12:26 AM PDT by bgill (how could a young man born here in Kenya, who is not even a native American, become the POTUS)
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To: Beave Meister
She seems to be smart, impressive and honest — and in her willingness to suppress so much of her mind for the sake of her career, kind of disturbing.

Some people want power over others. They are the ones who should not be given power.

3 posted on 05/11/2010 8:13:14 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Beave Meister
I spend a lot of time among young people because our sons are teenagers. They are growing up in a highly competitive time of political correctness, and they are acutely aware of it. Youngsters who hold conservative viewpoints learn to keep their mouths shut if they expect to get a somewhat fair shake in matters of grading. They learn how to spit back the expected answers regarding gender studies, Marxist interpretations of literature and global warming - even if they think it's a crock. In many cases they have little respect for their teachers intellectually, but they respect the power held over their futures. This is one set of youngsters who have learned to be cagey. I don't blame them, and I look forward to the time when they can set a freer course for themselves.

There's another set of youngsters who seem to be turned out in cookie-cutter perfection. They have learned the strategic importance of their resumes, and they spend their young years filling it in. Their parents, sometimes through PTO/PTA proxies, learn exactly what the college admissions folks are looking for, and then guide the kids in "checking off the boxes". We had a young lady recently who won a local award for being an exemplary student. In her acceptance speech, it became evident that she'd never noticed that our school mascot, the cardinal, actually lived here among us. She had spent every waking minute filling her resume, to the point where she was completely unaware of her surroundings. The sad thing is that she thought she had to tell her audience about the cardinals - as though nobody else had ever seen them. Even my 13 year old thought it was pathetic. This is one of those perfect little organization kids. She'll excel academically and find a nice well-connected job where she can continue her cocooned existence, but I doubt she'll have much impact on the world.

Youngsters who need to compete for good jobs need to walk this tightrope. Some become apolitical or refuse to disclose their leanings, however strong they may be. During the times of communist oppression behind the Iron Curtain, I visited my family many times. I saw this same behavior. Poker faces in public, careful disclosures of opinions, if at all, and careful attention to expected behaviors and milestones. These are not signs of a healthy and free society, but among the many sheep we also have healthy minds biding their time.

4 posted on 05/11/2010 8:39:52 AM PDT by Think free or die
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To: Beave Meister

It is the style cultivated by Liberals since 1994...to get elected, or now we see, confirmed: speak in generalities and push the agenda behind the scenes. Since the MSM studiously avoids reporting their background and policy goals, it’s been very successful for the Left—especially when they can ride Republican negatives into office (2008).


5 posted on 05/11/2010 9:29:23 AM PDT by RepublicanMeansAmerican
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To: Think free or die

Almost thinking of the 1950’s book “Organizational Man”.

P.C. i snot only rampant in the schools but also in the corporate world. Anymore not only you have to watch your behavior and what you say at the office but also you have to watch your conduct outside as well. There are many opportunities for corporate management to check up on you such as Facebook, what you say in the paper and they can find out if you got a speeding ticket even !


6 posted on 05/11/2010 1:44:32 PM PDT by CORedneck
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To: CORedneck

So true - PC everywhere. Our hymnal was revised some years ago, and a lot of language was “PC-ized”. I never liked the changes, but didn’t dwell on them. The other day, one of our choir members remarked on not liking the PC-stuff in the hymnal and I was very surprised to see several vehement nods of agreement. At least one of them was from a left-leaning, Prius-driving public school teacher. There may yet be hope . . .


7 posted on 05/11/2010 2:49:22 PM PDT by Think free or die
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