The Ivory Tower

As I complete my Master's and prepare for my PhD, I have come to recognize many of the inherent flaws within American academia. First and foremost would be the shift from a communal model to a business model for the governing of schools. Many of the schools across the nation began as land grant institutions aimed at the creation of upward mobility for the people. Higher education however has transformed into a business opportunity, not aimed at creating upward mobility, but rather aimed at accumulating as much monetary gain from the people as possible.

College's and University's are no longer interested in educating it's students, they are now more worried about enrollment numbers and tuition rates. This creates a devaluation of a degree. Administrator's, who are making six figure salaries, would allow a student to get a bachelor's without any real academic rigor, rather than flunking a student out of school. With the exception of a very few professors I had throughout my time in undergrad, I coasted through with everyone else. Many of the student's were babied and coddled, by professor's, never really challenging students to do their best.

However, while I worked hard to achieve what I did, there were a number of students who got through without opening a text book, living from bong hit to bong hit, and partied like there was no tomorrow. Granted, they did not go on to grad school, nor had the GPA I had, but they still received the same degree as myself. Many will go into the work force drastically unprepared to apply what they learned. While I know many will go into completely different fields then their degree, the primary purpose of college has become to learn how to learn. This seems almost backwards, and almost seems as if going to college is just a waste of time and money. Shouldn't we be "learning how to learn" in K-12? Instead K-12 is teaching kids how to take tests, as standardized tests have become the benchmark of learning, which is ridiculous.

But as usual, I digress... The shift to a business model of education, where all the institution cares about is income, does a number of things. First, it makes education less accessible for those without money. If tuition keeps rising, smaller amounts of people will be able to afford to attend college, thus maintaining the current white hegemonic masculinity which guides our nation. Second, it puts more pressure on faculty to create streams of income for the college/university thus distracting them from what should be their primary goal, which is the education of the students. Therefore, teachers lose the ability and/or capacity to teach. Third, it creates a biased system in which knowledge is auctioned off to the highest bidder. For example, private interests and corporations funding the focused research of whatever they wish. If they don't see the results, then they can pay enough to manufacture them, thus making academia irrelevant. This third point is also seen through the funding of higher education by the military industrial complex, which in turn perpetuates violence for its own control and financial gains.

While I am choosing to enter academia as a profession, I hope that someday this corporate model of education will cease to exist. If we can get back to the basics of teaching, which allows for academic freedom perhaps we can actually make the world a better place. Not to say that academics are not trying to do so already, but this would make it much easier, as the ideas that academics profess could actually become infectious, and practice could be transformed into reality, because students would be actually learning rather than skimming by to get a piece of paper.

Republican/Tea Party... One in the same... Harbingers of Death

OK, so the title is pretty drastic, but all in all this is how I feel... I'm actually writing my thesis on the Tea Party and I am coming to realize that there is no real difference between the Tea Party and Republicans. In fact, the Tea Party is just an extension of the old school Republicans from the Nixon to Reagan era's. If you look at the Southern Strategy which was introduced by Barry Goldwater in the 60's, we see the same economic argument, we see the "states' rights" argument (which has a historical racist overtone), we see the individualism argument. Nothing has changed, it's all the same. Not every single member of these groups is bad, however, they are following a doctrine and listening to demagogues which are dangerous.

So why are the Republicans and the Tea Party the harbingers of death? Well lets run down all the points... First and foremost let's look at the attack on the economy. Progressives (I will not say democrat's because they are in the pockets of corporations as much as the Republicans), wish for a system that takes care of ALL people, not a totalitarian system, a system which provides healthcare, decent pay, equity no matter race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc... Republican's and Tea Party members want to help themselves and the richest few (who are primarily white strait males). Hence the massive tax cuts and the attack on unions. Tax cuts for the richest people, in hopes that there will be a trickle down effect (which has been proven not to work). Why is wanting the government, the people whom WE THE PEOPLE elect and can vote out of office if their not doing there job, why is wanting them to run basic services which are needed for life so bad? Instead, Republican's/Tea Party want people who are out for their own profit and can give a shit less about those whom they serve as long as they get paid, to run these programs...

Second point, war. The right have no problem with Iraq, Afghanistan, etc... They have no problem supporting brutal dictators in order to control a region instead of allowing democracy to flourish. They promote a fear of Muslim's, communists, socialists. Same ol' story. They covet war, and continue to send the countries poorest and most disadvantaged to die. Not to die for their country, which is what they tell them, but to die for corporations, big business, so those few rich white men can maintain their hegemony.

Third point, the environment. Every single political party in the world, besides the Repubs/Tea Party, believe that global warming is a man made problem that we will have to face and is drastically effecting the planet. Repubs/Tea Party folk deny it to no end. They want no environmental regulations on business, once again for profits. Living in Colorado, I am witnessing global warming first hand, every winter has been getting warmer and warmer, the slopes have less and less snow each year, pine beetles are able to eat up more and more trees each year because the mountains are not getting enough long deep freezes. Wake up, the environment is in peril.

Final point for today, culture. As previously mentioned, Repubs/Tea Party have been attacking anyone they see as the "other." There is an attack on women and rights over their own body, their is an attack on programs which help single mothers pay for the expenses of having children. There is an attack on the LGBTQ community, "they are destroying the sanctity married,""it's a choice,""they are unmoral," I say... Bullshit... Everyone deserves the right to marry who ever they choose. My whole life I have known many people in the LGBTQ community who have helped raise me, and look at me know. I've honorably served my country, I've gotten my BA, will soon be getting my MA, and will also be pursuing my PhD soon. I'm strait, so they didn't "turn me into one of them." I wouldn't be who I am today without the lessons I've learned from very close and important mentors who identify as LGBTQ... Those who are against LGBTQ rights are hypocrites. On another note, as previously mentioned, the attack on Muslim's is ridiculous as well, you realize you pray to the same god right? Jesus is one of the most quoted prophets in the Quran. Muhammad and Jesus believed in the same things and promoted the same message, peace & love. I'm agnostic, but I am well versed in religion, stop all the BS!

SO this has been a long rant, and may be scattered at times. But it is partially in response to what is happening in Wisconsin, but also in response to all the BS that has been building up over the past few years. The Tea Party and the Republicans are pushing a dangerous agenda. As billionaire Warren Buffet said, "There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning, and we shouldn't be." There is class warfare ensuing right now, and it intersects with race, class, gender, and sexual-orientation, the people leading the charge in oppressing the people, that's right, the harbingers of death!