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Dissent in America Today
March 6th, 2006 at 17:26 Björn Hallberg
By now few could have missed how Jay Bennish has become the unwitting center of attention in the battle over America’s high school teachers and university professors. In this Orwellian society of harassing and smoking out dissenters under the pretence of doing good for the Fatherland, it seems a cleansing of the academia is in its first stages. Thus Bennish proved one of the basic tenets of totalitarian-fascist societies by his own demise. Of course, we don’t know how this will end, but as it stands, Bennish is on payed leave and will most likely either lose his job or be run out of town by his neighbourly brownshirted inquisition, for telling the truth and encouraging critical reasoning.
As Richard Myers and Kurt Nimmo point out, likening Bush with Hitler is by far the least dangerous thing, from the perspective of the powers that be, that Bennish lectures about. Too bad we can’t all have clearheaded teachers like Bennish, or I could have come to the same conclusion that I now have, only ten years ago. I guess that is part of what they fear.
Interestingly, one can see this as a great loss for America, and further limiting the way Americans “think” and connect the dots to the sorry state of affairs that the U.S. constantly finds itself in. Rather than malice towards the world, could it be that they are just unable to think because they have been conditioned not to?
It appears to me that many Americans are so intent on shooting this messenger, that they have missed his message entirely. Until students can think critically about other opinions, based on other sets of values, they are condemned to never being able to understand, negotiate or resolve conflict. The US government now finds itself in this position. It is unable to negotiate or resolve conflict.
I also fear the damage being done by Mr Bennish’s detractors to America’s reputation overseas.
Addendum: Jay Bennish was reinstated after an official investigation by the school board.
Entry 470 filed under: North America. This entry was posted 4 years ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.
Are you for you real? His students were interviewed on television and stated that he spent at least 75% of the class hour discussing politics and not the subject at hand…geography! Do you have a job yet? Or are you still sucking off the Swedish tit?
JD,
I assume you are an American. If so, with your rude language, you do your country a great diss-service. (pun intended)
The real issue is not what happened in a classroom in Colorado but rather how the right-wing blogosphere and media have over-reacted to what might have happened.
With your comment above, you have played your part in this.
FWIW, I have read the transcripts and listened to the recording. I’ve only heard Mr Bennish doing his job, and doing it well. He was urging students to use critical thinking; something which you, your government and some of your countrymen have demonstrated is severely lacking.
As an oft-times supporter of all that is good in America, I urge you to not squander what is left of your country’s good-will.
– MikeFitz, from Australia
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