The Assault Upon Trained Intelligence
Ernest Partridge, Co-Editor
July 19, 2004
In the conditions of modern life the rule is absolute, the race which does not value trained intelligence is doomed.
Not all your heroism, not all your social charm, not all your wit, not all your victories on land or at sea, can move
back the finger of fate. Today we maintain ourselves. Tomorrow science will have moved forward yet one more step, and
there will be no appeal from the judgment which will then be pronounced on the uneducated.
- Alfred North Whitehead
The Aims of Education
As anyone with an active and informed interest in the state of our nation is aware (i.e., most Crisis Papers readers),
George Bush's "compassionate conservatism" has impacted heavily and cruelly upon today's generation of college students.
It is one thing to know this as an abstract fact, and quite another to face the particular and personal manifestations
of these policies. This week we were vividly reminded of the personal dimensions of the educational crisis when we
received a message from a young college student in our area, hard-pressed to continue his education amidst the public
squalor brought on by Bushenomics.
The source of the financial emergency facing this student, and millions of others like him, is no mystery. Federal tax
cuts and unfunded mandates have put financial burdens on the states which have, in turn, led to budget cutbacks and
tuition increases in the public colleges and universities. Compounding these hardships, the sagging job market has
deprived many poor students of the opportunity to put themselves through college. And so, throughout the nation, hordes
of qualified and motivated students are being forced to postpone, or perhaps even abandon, their professional
aspirations.
The Partridges, professors both, have witnessed this tragedy first-hand, as talented and promising students have had to
drop out, as part-time and adjunct faculty at the threshholds of their careers have been "let go," and as course
offerings have been withdrawn due to shortages of faculty.
These conditions are being replicated in thousands of public colleges and universities throughout the land.
It is bad enough that millions of our young people are thus being deprived of the opportunity to realize their
potentials and achieve their aspirations in life. Far worse are the implications of this fiscal starvation of public
higher education for the future of our country. It is indisputable that no nation can compete and survive in this
technological age, without a trained work force. Nor can an advanced and free civilization endure without a cadre of
educated public servants -- lawyers, doctors, professors, entrepreneurs, administrators -- and a public liberally
educated in the history and political laws and traditions of the state, and instilled with critical skills, moral
insight and civic responsibility.
In sum: Public education is not, as the right wing regressives would have it, merely an avenue of opportunity for those
individuals who can afford it. The education of each individual is an essential investment in the future of the entire
society.
The city of New York recognized this a century ago, when it established its system of tuition-free City Colleges (now
the City University of New York). In the City College system, students were accepted on academic merit alone, and the
competition was fierce. Living at home and commuting by subway, children of immigrants had a "ladder" of opportunity
that led them from poverty to the professions -- an avenue that was taken by thousands of outstanding and productive
scientists, engineers, doctors, lawyers and teachers. These were exemplars of Thomas Jefferson's "natural aristocracy of
talent and virtue."
The City University system was replicated in California, as it established what was to become the world's finest public
university system -- until, that is, Ronald Reagan became the Governor of California, and until, in 1979, the infamous
"Proposition 13" slashed California tax revenues.
Today, as tuition costs rise at the City University of New York, in the California public universities, and in public
colleges and universities throughout the land, the door to higher education is closing to the talented and motivated
young people who have the misfortune of also being poor.
I was vividly reminded of this national outrage this past week, by an e-mail message from a student residing in a
neighboring city. We'll call him "Chris" (not his real name, of course).
By way of introduction, "Chris" writes: "I am 23 years old, attending community college ... I have had an interest in
politics, the environment, social ethics, etc. since George W. Bush started his presidency in 2000 and he kept
saying/doing things that were dissonant with my own instinctive sense of right and wrong. I've always been a voracious
consumer of literature, and in 2000 I began learning a lot about American government, politics."
He thus described his plight:
I can't get financial aid for school, I've just been laid off from one of the two dead-end jobs that I was working, my
mother is barely getting by (I'm still living with her,) I am up to my ears in debt from my one year at [a] State
College (which I still couldn't afford with all the borrowing,) I have absolutely no health/dental/vision insurance of
any kind (nor can I afford any,) along with several other problems. In short, I have been feeling absolutely no hope of
fulfilling my life's purpose of becoming a lawyer and getting a new critical-thinking/progressive political movement
rolling.
However, the "conservatives," state and national, have offered Chris and others like him a solution -- or is it a bribe?
I come from a military-oriented family and serving my country has always appealed to me, but I never did so because I
didn't want to be forced to fight an immoral war. Now that my life is in shambles, however, and the military is offering
to basically solve the problems I mentioned earlier, I am seriously considering it. I just don't know if I could live
with my decision later, given the current situation. I love my country and if I knew that the military would never be
used for illegitimate reasons I'd have no moral dilemma. I just know though that I could end up killing others because
our leaders are dysfunctional, for whatever reason. On the positive side, the military will guarantee my ability to
finish school, because they will pay off my student loans and give me the GI Bill money to get a law degree.
When asked for counsel, it has been my policy not to state my opinions outright, but rather to point out relevant facts
and to seek with the individual, a clarification of his or her own feelings and motivations. But such an approach is
better realized through conversation than through correspondence.
And so, my first suggestion was that given his strong political convictions, he might contact the Democratic Party
offices at one of the sixteen "battleground states," where he could offer his full-time services in exchange for a
minimal "room and board" compensation. (Of course, he should also explain his difficult financial situation). Such
political work can open up excellent career and educational opportunities, especially to those who wish to study law and
politics.
In view of our shared convictions about the immorality of Bush's Iraq war, and the fact that Chris had read much of what
I had written for this website, I was uncharacteristically blunt about "the military option."
First of all, I advised him to look very carefully at what the military might be offering concerning post-service
college support. And I further noted that he should most certainly seek out a second opinion, outside the military.
There may be much less opportunity than meets the eye. Furthermore, when he has finished his service, there may be much
less available than he is being promised today. Bush has ruthlessly slashed military and veteran's benefits. Some
wounded vets are warehoused in old barracks where they must wait months before receiving medical care. Recently, wounded
soldiers were charged for their hospital meals -- until this outrage was made public. So one shouldn't count on that
college assistance being available, after one's tour of duty.
Though vehemently opposed to the Iraqi war Chris nonetheless hoped that if he were assigned to Iraq, he might "do some
good for the Iraqi people." This, I suggested, might be very difficult, for as an American soldier, he would be an
instrument of national policy -- which means, of course, Bush and neo-con policy. Because of the incredible botch by the
Bush Administration, the vast majority of Iraqis regard the American troops, not as liberators, but as occupiers. (Just
read the public opinion surveys). No Iraqi can be trusted by our troops -- all are presumed guilty until proven
innocent. This is quite understandable, since the Iraqis' attitude toward their occupiers is exactly the same as our
might be, if a foreign army were to occupy our country. All soldiers are "the enemy." The compassion of individual
soldiers counts for very little. So there is little opportunity for "winning hearts and minds."
Believing as we both do, that Bush is engaged in "warmongering and imperialism," then he must understand that "Operation
Iraqi Freedom" is not about freedom. Most Iraqis would agree. The Bush doctrine of "spreading democracy" is contradicted
by its support of oppressive regimes throughout the world, often in brutal opposition to authentic popular democratic
movements. As for Bush's devotion to democracy here in the US -- well, we all know the rest.
To close, this is where you come in, dear reader. First of all, what would you suggest to "Chris" -- and by extension,
to any and all of the many young people facing a similar dilemma? More to the point, are you in a position to put this
intelligent, articulate, and highly motivated person to work in the cause that we all support?
Send your responses to me at crisispapers@comcast.net, and I will relay them on to Chris.
He is ready, willing, and able to join the fight to restore our democracy, and awaits his "orders."
So too, you can be sure, are many other young people in a similar situation. Clearly George Bush and the right-wing
regressives have no interest in helping these worthy people. So it is up to us.
Copyright 2004 by Ernest Partridge
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Dr. Ernest Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. He
publishes the website, "The Online Gadfly" ( www.igc.org/gadfly) and co-edits the progressive website, "The Crisis Papers" ( www.crisispapers.org).