Seth is a Professor of English (composition and rhetoric; critical pedagogy; qualitative research methods) at West Chester University of PA. He’s a peace and labor activist and serves in several positions for the PASSHE schools’ faculty union (APSCUF). He’s married to Ann, who can tell you about herself if she wants :). He could probably tell you more, but you’d have to ask.
He likes it when people comment on his posts, but won’t approve anything that’s abusive or over the line. Yes, he gets to decide that. If you disagree, start your own blog! That’s how democracy works.
Here comes trouble 
Hello Mr. Kahn,
My name is Alexandra Di Trolio and I was looking to contact you about being a guest for a radio show. I work for a show called “The Blog Bunker” on Indie Talk channel 110 on Sirius Satellite Radio. It is a political talk channel, not party affiliated, that is described as “political talk for people who hate politics”. The show “The Blog Bunker” is a casual political talk show and we like to think of ourselves as an independent show that likes to discuss the issues in society and our world. Many of our stories and information come from blogs across the country. We take the issues seriously, but not ourselves, and like to make the show as informative and entertaining as possible. We would love to have you on our show. We are based in the New York area and would welcome the opportunity to do an in studio interview or a phone interview if one in studio is not possible. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Alexandra Di Trolio
“The Blog Bunker”
INDIE TALK 110
Sirius Satellite Radio
aditrolio@siriusradio.com
How our Marxist faculties got that way
By Edward Bernard Glick
It’s August 1968. Anti-Vietnam War demonstrators have just wrecked the Democratic national convention in Chicago and ruined Hubert Humphrey’s chances to become President. So what did these Marxist demonstrators and their cohorts elsewhere do next?
They stayed in college. They sought out the easiest professors and the easiest courses. And they stayed in the top half of their class. This effectively deferred them from the military draft, a draft that discriminated against young men who didn’t have the brains or the money to go to college. That draft also sparked the wave of grade inflation that still swamps our colleges. Vietnam-era faculty members lowered standards in order to help the “Hell No, We Won’t Go” crowd.
In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon ended the war and Congress ended military conscription. So the Marxist anti-war activists — activism is now a full-time profession — had to do something else. Most of them went to work in the real world. But a meaningful number remained in school and opted for academia, especially the humanities and the social sciences. If they got a Ph.D., they might even become university teachers, and many of them did. They then climbed academia’s ladder, rising from instructor to assistant professor, from assistant professor to associate professor, and from associate professor to full professor. These last two ranks usually carry tenure, which means a guaranteed job until one decides to retire or is fired for raping little children in the streets.
Forty years have passed since the 1968 Democratic national convention. During that time, American academia has been transformed into the most postmodernist, know-nothing, anti-American, anti-military, anti-capitalist, Marxist institution in our society. It is now a bastion of situational ethics and moral relativity and teaches that there are no evil people, only misunderstood and oppressed people. American academia is now a very intolerant place, As Ann Coulter, who has been driven off more than one campus podium because of her conservative views, has put it, “There is free speech for thee, but not for me.”
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Marxism collapsed in Russia and in Eastern Europe. But it survived in U.S. universities, where politically-correct feelings are now more important than knowledge, and where politically-correct emotions are now more important than logic and critical thinking. Our students and graduates are well trained, but badly educated. Outside of what they must learn to make a living, they don’t know very much. But they have been taught to feel sad, angry or guilty about their country and its past.
In the main, our students and graduates, no matter where they went to school, don’t understand that China, in return for Sudanese oil, is supplying the weapons used to commit genocide in Darfur. But they feel bad about the Drfurians. They don’t now that the Palestinians have rejected every opportunity to have a state of their own. But they feel sorry for them and they blame the Israelis for their plight. They aren’t familiar with the Koranic verse “the Infidel is your inveterate enemy.” But they keep searching for the “root causes” of Muslim hatred and many of them believe that terrorism is the result of what the United States and Israel, obviously the two worst countries on this planet, do or do not do.
Deficient in history, geography, and economics, our college-trained citizens cannot fathom that the main reasons for high gasoline prices are the speculation in oil futures and the continuing industrialization of Japan, China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and other countries. Instead, they blame the “greedy” U.S. oil companies, whose “obscene” profit margins are not as high as many other industries. Nor do they understand that their simultaneous and illogical opposition to nuclear power, coal, liquified petroleum gas, on-shore and off-shore oil drilling, and new refineries guarantees that we will have energy shortages and high energy prices.
Their professors don’t make the big bucks in America. What their professors do earn, however, are huge psychological incomes in the form of power — the power to shape the minds of their students and the power to influence their colleagues who want raises, sabbaticals. grants, promotions, and tenure. One of the best ways to influence students, colleagues, and the citizenry at large is to hire, promote, and tenure only those people who agree with you. Duke University is a case in point. Some time ago, its psychology chairman was asked in a radio interview if his department hired Republicans. He answered: “No. We don’t knowingly hire them because they are stupid and we are not.”
If I were a psychologist, Duke would never hire me, for I am a Republican, and a Jewish one at that. Moreover, when I was an active academic during and after the Vietnam War, I audaciously taught politically-incorrect courses: civil-military relations and the politics of national defense.
Edward Bernard Glick is a professor emeritus of political science at Temple University and the author of “Soldiers, Scholars, and Society: The Social Impact of the American Military.”
This is an old post but I have to say “this guy has balls calling others know nothings”!Nixon stopped the war?R U f’n kidding?He promised that and instead escalated and got 30,000 more American kids killed ,escalated bombing and attacks into Cambodia and Laos which got MILLIONS more Southeast Asians killed and just destabilized the whole area!I’ll leave out the other CRIMINAL acts of the CROOK Tricky Dick and his fascist HENCHMEN!Just another spoiled ,r/wingnut crybaby screaming for more killing,hatred and Corporate Malfeasance!At least the left was trying to stop a war and the continuing murder of innocents,all that you preach is perpetual war , unending hatred and servitude to the very PROFITEERING R/W Corporate Criminals that continually lie us into wars and TRAITOROUSLY BANKRUPT America and the World!These viscous,hate filled rightwingers have done nothing but hold the U.S. back at every turn!(as these traitorous Repubs and their Corporate masters have done again since bringing America to near collapse and begging for a SOCIALIST bailout)
I’m not sure who you’re replying to here. Nobody said anything nice about Nixon.
Bob, if you want to talk more about this specific argument, we can, but for now, I want to point this out;. When Glick says, “postmodernist, know-nothing, anti-American, anti-military, anti-capitalist, Marxist institution,” he’s not making any sense. Postmodernism and Marxism are darn near opposite positions. Or more precisely, postmodernism developed in opposition to Marxism. So to say an institution is both postmodern and Marxist is nonsensical–quite literally. I can see why somebody might reject either or both, but they also reject each other.
Also, most Marxists aren’t anti-war. It’s hard to advocate for revolution if you’re a pacifist, isn’t it? I’ve read a pretty good of bit of Marx, and nowhere does he advocate non-violence. It’s one of the reasons people like me, despite assertions to the contrary on the blog, aren’t Marxists.
There’s some interesting stuff in this screed of an essay, but it’s a screed nonetheless. Want to hear more?
Seth,
Are you Jewish and if so, how do you feel about anti-Semitism in the Middle East?
I am Jewish, sort of. Was born into an Orthodox Jewish family but haven’t practiced since I was a kid. I was training for my bar-mitzvah when I realized I didn’t believe the religion, so I don’t practice it.
What’s going on the Middle East is quite simply beyond my ability to sort out. I’ve thought about it a lot and can’t come to grips with what I actually think, so I just don’t participate in that discussion. I don’t have anything useful to add, so I listen, read, think, and otherwise stay out of it. I’m sure many Jews would accuse me of abdicating my people and/or my responsibility. Let them. I choose my issues.
So it doesn’t bother you that there are twenty two nations in the Arab League and NONE of them recognize Israel?
I didn’t say it doesn’t bother me. I said the problem of Israel’s relationship to the Middle East is more complicated than I figure out. Any reason you’re pushing me on this?
So by ethnicity and not faith you are Jewish, right? I would think that the desire for the destruction of your ethnic homeland would be of great concern to you. It’s really not all that complicated. Radical Muslims are bent on the destruction of Israel.
I see your point, which I’ve heard and thought about before. If I thought it were as simple as you think it is, we wouldn’t have to talk about that here. But you’ve made clear, especially in the nasty post you just sent me that I deleted, that you’re not much interested in hearing anything I have to say. I’d best just take my nutless Marxist self to Venezuela, right?
I think it’s funny (n a sad way) that you accuse me of ducking issues when you didn’t respond to a word I said about the essay you posted above. You’re just like so many of your conservative comrades. If I don’t say what you want to hear, I’m evading the issues.
I’m not going to block you, but I certainly won’t post anything like the other message you just sent me. You can apologize for being nasty, or you can stop posting here. Your call.
Hi Seth,
A mutual friend, Blythe Denton, sent me the link to your blog. Haven’t delved too far into it, but I really appreciate your responses in this e-mail chain with Bob. You answer his responses, but do not attack or denigrate him. Way to go. There should be more informed, pointed, but respectful debate. Thank you!
Thanks Bryan. I try to be respectful. Glad somebody besides me is seeing it that way.
Hi Seth,
Google brought me to your blog through your Rhetoric for Activists post (class). Just read through and loved the exchange with BS.
Yes, I realize I am years late to the game. 🙂
Be well!
Thanks, Terra. I’ve wondered on and off over the years who BS actually is, since I finally figured out it’s an alias. But I try to respect the pseudonymity of the internet as long as there’s no real threat of violence.