Comments on: Professor William Ayers and the Corruption of the Academy

By: Carl

Carl — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:36:25 +0000

Bill Ayers, “guilty as sin, free as a bird”, is an unrepentant terrorist. This man becomes a professor with the “blessing” of the academic elite; that same elite disregards who this man really is. Ayers has taught many students to be teachers…what has he taught them? What have these teachers taught our children? There is a question to ponder.

By: thag

thag — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:50:12 +0000

Of course the government is interested in self-perpetuation, but I think that the United States found the best way to do so: conducting itself by the rules reflection and choice.

The only way you could really destroy the United States would be to destroy its idea, which is something you can’t really say about other places. Because we feel these ideas are based on truths, things like transparency or dissent can only really serve to make sure securing those truths are the end of government. Unless we come across a really good sophist or something, I guess.

By: isabella mori

isabella mori — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:15:37 +0000

hmmm … transparency and self-critique are not something that i’d normally associate with any government.

they’re both institutions and therefore fiercely interested in self-perpetuation. in 99% of the cases, i would say that gestures towards transparency and other lofty activities are frequently made by institutions (the look really good) – and hardly ever executed. (and yes, there are exceptions.)

and i’m looking at your last sentence again, akarra. yes, your narrative might be largely unheard. but not completely. and it HAS been narrated. that cannot be taken away.

By: thag

thag — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:22:07 +0000

@ isabella: Yes, what you say is true to a degree (that government has been presented in a Platonic way), but of course one (gov’t) is willing to allow for transparency and self-critique; the other (university) acts as if it is granting us the alms of an overseer to its pawn…

By: isabella mori

isabella mori — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:19:55 +0000

hey there – haven’t been here in ages.

much, much to say here. let me just briefly mention one: whose idea is it that narrative is only writing?

a friend of mine, who does a lot of counselling in an inner city context and who is deeply spiritual, always says that the stories she hears are “living scripture.”

limiting narrative to the written form is a form of silly elitism. you know, where you’re so high up in the ivory tower that you can’t see the obvious?

you make an interesting point in “the truth is that the US government, for all its problems, is far more liberating than modern education” but i’m not sure that i would wholeheartedly agree with it. my hunch is that you see the US government in a pure – platonically ideal? – state, the reason being that you cite the constitution, the bill of rights, etc. on the other hand, the way you portray academia is in its actual state – e.g. with football teams receiving more attention and funding than the liberal arts.

aren’t they BOTH pretty corrupt, and don’t they BOTH offer some amazing opportunities for humans to grow?

By: Bob Campbell

Bob Campbell — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:09:41 +0000

You are an interesting fellow. I subscribe to rule number 3, “my eyes are tired.” Yes, I think you should write shorter articles..

Regarding the Bill Ayers piece, I think the man is a fraud, just like Obama. Professors like Ayers don’t tech students how to think or achieve, only how to conform — they are true liberals in that respect. Both Ayers and Obama remind of men just wishing respect, wanting desperately for people to like them.

Thanks for the article.. I will defintely give it a positive Digg (how I found you).

Cheers,
Bob Campbell