My Turn: The Question That We Should Be Asking [senior at Yale challenges PC "morality"]

www.MSNBC.com/news [Newsweek on-line] ^ | 12/17/2001 | Alison Hornstein

[RonDog]

Dec. 17 issue

[RonDog]

Nationally syndicated talk show host Dennis Prager REALLY likes this editorial!

[RonDog]

From www.DennisPrager.com:

Monday, December 10, 2001

One of America's most respected thinkers, Dennis Prager is an author, lecturer, teacher, and theologian with a nationally syndicated radio talk show originating from Los Angeles on KRLA 870 AM.

He is a best selling author who has written four books and almost a thousand articles. His opinion pieces appear frequently in Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal.

He has lectured in 45 US states, 9 of Canada's ten provinces, and on six continents, and in January 2002, he will be lecturing at the seventh continent, Antarctica.

[RonDog]

"...Just as we should pass absolute moral judgment in the case of rape, we should recognize that some actions are objectively bad, despite differences in cultural standards and values. To me, hijacking planes and killing thousands of civilians falls into this category. Others may disagree...

Continuing to neglect the place of moral evaluations in discussing current events is not only philosophically problematic; it is also potentially suicidal. There comes a point where the refusal to take a stand on what is wrong results in its victory....

...I do know that much of the discussion on this campus since September 11 has failed to address the question of whether an absolute wrong has been committed.

I think it should..."

Not your typical Newsweek article, eh?

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[Ron C.]

The problem is that most minds-full-of-mush (an apt Rush term) is simple. They wouldn't recognize a moral imperative if their life depended on it (and it does.) Unfortunately the greatness that America had was its inherent sense of morality - which began dying as that was strangled, choked and beat out of her.

[Colofornian]

A deficiency in my generation's ability to make moral judgments

Well, of course. How often has "Thou shalt not judge" been thrown at them or at others? But isn't one who says "thou shalt not judge" in fact judging someone whom they perceive as judging others? Is it not a self-refuting statement to be used in such a manner? Obviously, when Jesus said that, he didn't mean, "Thou shall not distinguish between behaviors." After all, didn't Jesus also say, "Ye shall know them by their fruit"?

[Colofornian]

We hesitate to make moral judgments

Well, of course. This generation was brought up on a diet that all discrimination was bad. In reality, only discrimination based upon things like skin color are morally wrong. We all discriminate upon deeper bases than that.

Some of us "discriminate" vs. gang members by not allowing our kids to hang out w/them. Some of us "discriminate" vs. bigamists & pedophiles by not allowing them to do daycare @ our churches or act as Little League coaches. For an excellent understanding of these concepts more in depth, see commentaries on the Boy Scouts by Greg Koukl @ Stand to Reason (www.str.org).

Greg is one of the best apologists of our time in helping folks understand what is wrong with the cultural soundbites of our times.

[Sabertooth]

Dennis Praeger PM bump!

Great article RonDog, thanks for posting it.

[Nubbin]

"...we should recognize that some actions are objectively bad, despite differences in cultural standards and values."

Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus.

I love it when the President continually talks about good vs. evil in his speeches, calling Osama "the evil one". Many of Alison's generation have been spoon fed moral relativism for their entire lives, they never once in 20 years heard this kind of talk I'll bet.

Good on you Alison Hornstein.

[Nubbin]

Please add me to your Ping list.

[IronJack]

Here's proof that even the Ivy League can't crush good sense.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Lemma:

A person with an Ivy League education doesn't know what most of us learned in Kindergarten and is only slightly more articulate than the median five-year old.

Corollary

Defund the Left, privatize Big Education and end all government subsidies to the pedagogical-industrial complex.

[Utah Girl]

Thanks for the ping. Sounds as if the author has really thought out her stance on things, not automatically believing everything she is taught. Good on her.

[IronJack]

We all discriminate upon deeper bases than that.

There was a time not long ago when it was considered a compliment to be called "a gentleman of discriminating taste."

By the way, the opposite of "discriminating" is "indiscriminate." I know which one I'D rather be called!

[MississippiMan]

It's a good editorial but the key point is that this guy is SUCH a rare specimen in his generation. You think things are bad now? The current generation of voters who enable PC to exist do so through casual ignorance. Wait until the active crowd is in charge.

MM

[TADSLOS]

I do know that much of the discussion on this campus since September 11 has failed to address the question of whether an absolute wrong has been committed. I think it should.

The sad part is that he even has to give it thought to realize the act for what it was.

[aristeides]

I suspect 9/11 has taught a lot of the young that PC is nonsensical.

By the way, Nazi Germany constantly used the excuse that it was a "have-not nation." How's that different from the attempt to excuse the Islamist terrorists by their countries' poverty (especially since the terrorists personally are apparently not poor at all)?

[onedoug]

Thanks for another great flag, RD. I listened to some of this on Prager during the drive home.

He had her on the phone for a bit.

"It means that we've got some great young people." SECDEF Rumsfeld

[onyx]

Thanks for the pings. BTTT

[Teacher317]

Great point, and one that I repeatedly run past my students using very similar language. They usually look at me like I'm insane for even suggesting such a thing (Discrimination isn't bad?!?!?!), but they relax as soon as I explain it for them... until a month later when it comes up again. =^) TV is a very tough and omni-present thing to compete against.

[agrace]

There comes a point where the refusal to take a stand on what is wrong results in its victory.

Great line, great editorial.