Rick Santorum, former senator, and proud possessor of three college degrees -- a B.A., M.A. and J.D. -- has for the past two days taken his Culture War scorched-earth policy to a whole new level. Calling the President a "snob" for encouraging students to seek education beyond high school (though Obama is careful to say that community college training in a trade or in the operation of high-tech manufacturing equipment is included), Santorum completes his rant with the more-customary ultra-conservative dismissal of higher education as a haven for producing "graduates just like the President, ideological clones of Mr. Obama." The rant is replete with the pejorative put-down of college and university professors as enemies of genuine independence of thought, practicing instead their politically-correct version of university-based liberalism. The latter, Santorum's version of Gingrich's secular-socialist left, is of course completely divorced from real-world life in almost every respect (though it does, its critics agree, function to recruit defenseless young voters for the Democratic party!)
At a minimum, such a view presumes little independence of thought on the part of the ideological victims of professorial brainwashing that pass through the gulags that comprise our finest institiutions of higher learning. And it assumes an ideological unanimity and motivation on the part of those teaching in US colleges and universities that is remarkable at best, and positively conspiratorial at worst. But this is only my own view, and Mr. Santorum's observations obviously are connecting with some segments of those who are willing warriors in the Culture Wars (beyond Charles Murray, who obviously Santorum's intellectual kindred spirit.) So the inevitable question: Do you concur with the "snobbish" label for those advocating greater levels of college attendance by American high school grads today? If we set aside the deterrent posed by cost considerations, is it fair to brand those pursuing a college education in twenty-first century America as "snobbish" wannabe's?
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I do not concur with the snobbish label for those advocating greater levels of college attendance by American high school grads. Because of that after high school, some people get a job such as manufacture companies or go to a community college instead of a 4 years college beyond the high-school education. However, people still need enough education in high school to get the job and community college. Again, there should be people who do not need 4 years degree.
ReplyDeleteObama is not so much snobbish as practical and realistic in his high regard for higher education. I would say this would show that Obama is more of a realist than Santorum. Colleges and universities certainly aren't brainwashing factories. If anything, the alleged liberal bias in colleges would make conservatives think even more about their positions and leave them more prepared to defend their views when they, for example, run to be the next republican nominee for president. College isn't about politics, it's about being able to put your foot in the door in the increasingly competitive workforce.
ReplyDeleteThis is just another example of Santorum pandering to the disillusioned far right.
I don't see how it's snobbish to encourage people to pursue some level of education beyond high school. In this day and age it's extremely difficult to find a well paying job with only a high school diploma. My mom was born and raised in Germany and obtained some technical training beyond high school in Germany, but here in the United States her level of education is viewed as equivalent to that of a high school graduate. The fact that my mom didn't earn a college degree has put her at a disadvantage when applying for jobs, even those that she is highly qualified for. There are many individuals who are in similar situations and I think Obama is trying to argue that this doesn't have to continue to be the case. If more people were to pursue some level of college education it would benefit them personally and would also prove useful to our country in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIt is a known fact, that in today's society one needs a degree to get anywhere in life, essentially. There are not the mass quantities of factor jobs, or other places where you can simply walk into a job, work your way up, and become well-paid for your efforts, without a B.A. or otherwise. The days of very bright, self-taught intellects walking into prestigious positions are long gone. That is simply an after thought, so I would concur with the previous statements, that no, Obama is not being a snob.
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