Oh Bob...you remind of the profs I had as an undergrad at UNI. One of the very best was history professor Dr. John Eiklor, who taught massive sections of Humanities I and II for general education. You may have had him. They video recorded the classes in the Auditorium (Lang Hall) and played them through the day for the wave of boomer students matriculating through the university back then. We had to buy a historic world atlas as a study guide for the class. One day he put a current world map from that atlas on the screen said, sarcastically, "Here a map of the world with the United States in the middle -- RIGHT WHERE GOD PUT IT." He was well known for his sardonic sense of humor, but he was also a Navy veteran and believed in our systerm of government. There's many more anecdotes I could tell, but that one underscores that one thing he and others did was to encourage critical thinking. In fact that was true through my earlier years; I learned about 1619, now considered social blasphemy, in Catholic school. I guess we benefited from growing up in the painful, turbulent but instructional 1960s and early '70s. It's the duty and obligation of citizens in a democracy to question authority to keep it on the right track and to seek office themselves to effect change if necessary. One can be a skeptic without being a cynic and causing societal paranoia. We are a representative democracy. This is not divine right of kings. Unfortunately I fear one of our major political contenders slept through history and American government class (deemed irrelevant to making money) but has watched an awful lot of TV and movies. I'm sure Godfather movies were included in the viewing fare. Government by omerta and vendetta. Rules are for suckers, nice guys finish last and you have to impose your will on others to survive.
I read this column a little skeptically. Then I clicked the link and read the bill. I was shocked by the detailed requirements requiring only laudatory and exemplary information--and the parts of our history that were excluded from the list.
Learning is the enemy of right wing extremists. Thus, their myriad attacks on actual education. They rail about indoctrination, true projection on their part. Higher education is largely learning to think critically. Nothing destroys right wing mantra like does critical and deep thinking. As you say, of course, Reynolds and her apparatchiks are vituperative and vindictive. Unless academics can easily pull up stakes, disrupt their families, and face a badly constricted employment market, they must hold their tongues. Republicans do admire Putin’s Russia.
You are correct. They all fear Kim Reynolds or more precisely, the people behind her. One utter shame is that Rep Kniff-McCulla was on the Board of Trustees at Central College, yet puts forth and supports the most unscientific and nonsensical bills. She's rich though, which is perhaps why she got on the Board in the first place. I have written her several times and asked her to please be more careful in what she does. It gets no where and often no response.
I spoke out whenever KR made statements that were not scientifically based and I can say what happened to me. I had to maintain ever older scientific equipment. It got too time consuming and frankly, embarrassing. When I retired, it was all immediately replaced. I did once hear one of the history professors telling his class that the Democrats were going to take away guns. He's still there.
Good piece, and thanks for the mention, Bob. I hope Iowa students aren’t adopting the ‘cut and paste’ methods of their legislative elders when writing their term papers.
Wonderful column, Bob. I am glad that you emphasized the seemingly benign, but absolutely subversive use of the word republican to describe our form of government. I underlined it each time as I read the bill text. Thanks for pointing it out.
I have noticed this verbage from Republicans. I attend several public forums each legislation session. In the last few years, if someone in the crowd uses the word "democracy" you can count on a Republican legislator "correcting" them and saying " we are a republic." Just this week as Rep. Wheeler was discussing the amendmnets to the bill Kim submitted to destroy AEAs, he praised the amending process and public input as a a "win for our republic form of government."
Has anyone looked to see if there’s a connection between this and David Barton the right wing history propagandist that much of Christian homeschooling uses for their history?
Oh Bob...you remind of the profs I had as an undergrad at UNI. One of the very best was history professor Dr. John Eiklor, who taught massive sections of Humanities I and II for general education. You may have had him. They video recorded the classes in the Auditorium (Lang Hall) and played them through the day for the wave of boomer students matriculating through the university back then. We had to buy a historic world atlas as a study guide for the class. One day he put a current world map from that atlas on the screen said, sarcastically, "Here a map of the world with the United States in the middle -- RIGHT WHERE GOD PUT IT." He was well known for his sardonic sense of humor, but he was also a Navy veteran and believed in our systerm of government. There's many more anecdotes I could tell, but that one underscores that one thing he and others did was to encourage critical thinking. In fact that was true through my earlier years; I learned about 1619, now considered social blasphemy, in Catholic school. I guess we benefited from growing up in the painful, turbulent but instructional 1960s and early '70s. It's the duty and obligation of citizens in a democracy to question authority to keep it on the right track and to seek office themselves to effect change if necessary. One can be a skeptic without being a cynic and causing societal paranoia. We are a representative democracy. This is not divine right of kings. Unfortunately I fear one of our major political contenders slept through history and American government class (deemed irrelevant to making money) but has watched an awful lot of TV and movies. I'm sure Godfather movies were included in the viewing fare. Government by omerta and vendetta. Rules are for suckers, nice guys finish last and you have to impose your will on others to survive.
I read this column a little skeptically. Then I clicked the link and read the bill. I was shocked by the detailed requirements requiring only laudatory and exemplary information--and the parts of our history that were excluded from the list.
Learning is the enemy of right wing extremists. Thus, their myriad attacks on actual education. They rail about indoctrination, true projection on their part. Higher education is largely learning to think critically. Nothing destroys right wing mantra like does critical and deep thinking. As you say, of course, Reynolds and her apparatchiks are vituperative and vindictive. Unless academics can easily pull up stakes, disrupt their families, and face a badly constricted employment market, they must hold their tongues. Republicans do admire Putin’s Russia.
You are correct. They all fear Kim Reynolds or more precisely, the people behind her. One utter shame is that Rep Kniff-McCulla was on the Board of Trustees at Central College, yet puts forth and supports the most unscientific and nonsensical bills. She's rich though, which is perhaps why she got on the Board in the first place. I have written her several times and asked her to please be more careful in what she does. It gets no where and often no response.
I spoke out whenever KR made statements that were not scientifically based and I can say what happened to me. I had to maintain ever older scientific equipment. It got too time consuming and frankly, embarrassing. When I retired, it was all immediately replaced. I did once hear one of the history professors telling his class that the Democrats were going to take away guns. He's still there.
The confidence game is a one-sided delusion
Thanks again Robert. Keep punching away!
Good piece, and thanks for the mention, Bob. I hope Iowa students aren’t adopting the ‘cut and paste’ methods of their legislative elders when writing their term papers.
Thanks for this post. It’s a super important head’s up!
Thank you, Robert, for bringing this out of the shadows.
Wonderful column, Bob. I am glad that you emphasized the seemingly benign, but absolutely subversive use of the word republican to describe our form of government. I underlined it each time as I read the bill text. Thanks for pointing it out.
Bob. This is so illuminating!
I have noticed this verbage from Republicans. I attend several public forums each legislation session. In the last few years, if someone in the crowd uses the word "democracy" you can count on a Republican legislator "correcting" them and saying " we are a republic." Just this week as Rep. Wheeler was discussing the amendmnets to the bill Kim submitted to destroy AEAs, he praised the amending process and public input as a a "win for our republic form of government."
Has anyone looked to see if there’s a connection between this and David Barton the right wing history propagandist that much of Christian homeschooling uses for their history?