THE COMMON SENSE AND UNCOMMON DECENCY OF THE COMMON MAN
THE COMMON SENSE AND UNCOMMON DECENCY OF THE COMMON MAN
By
Ken Eliasberg
For some time I have been critical of the conspicuous limitations of those who populate our academic community — particularly those who make up the social studies departments of most of our institutions of higher learning. At best they are well intentioned, but profoundly misguided, Marxists who have lost all touch with real world considerations. This is understandable when you realize that these people live in a hermetically sealed cocoon into which they jumped in the ‘60s, and, by virtue of their encapsulation, have never been required to reexamine their thinking. And worse yet, as a consequence, they have never been forced to acknowledge how inadequate their theories are in terms of their real world application.
And it hurts me to characterize “scholars” in this manner because I was raised to have a great respect for things like education, scholarship, and academic excellence. However, after a considerable amount of exposure to our “intellectual elite,” I have come to the conclusion that they operate in such rarified air that, in the case of all too many, it has adversely affected their capacity to think. There are any number of articles and books which support this conclusion, but three that I particularly recommend are Why the Left Hates America — Exposing the lies that have obscured our nation’s greatness (2002); Intellectual Morons — How ideology makes smart people fall for stupid ideas (2004), both by Daniel J. Flynn and published by Forum; and Brainwashed — How universities indoctrinate America’s youth by Ben Shapiro (2004) WND Books.
I now fully understand Bill Buckley’s statement in 1953 that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone book than the 2,000 members of the Harvard faculty. I also understand the sentiment behind that old saw — those who can, do; those who can’t teach (and those who can’t teach, teach teachers). In the final analysis this may be the understandable fate of an academic — to be consigned to a state of irrelevance. I have always viewed the term “academic” as a means of describing something that was either of diminished utilitarian value on the one hand, or, on the other hand, as something completely divorced from reality. I now see that when it comes to the “humanities” departments in most of our universities, the latter description is closer to the truth.
In sharp contrast is the refreshing clarity of thought, abundance of common sense, and down-to-earth decency that is found in those who engage in real labor (and, when I say “real labor,” I include mundane things like thinking, an undertaking which, all too frequently, seems beyond the reach of many of our cogniscenti and pseudo intellectuals in academia and the mainstream media) — in short, the “common man.” A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to go to a Sean Hannity Freedom Alliance concert in San Diego, and, I have to tell you, other than mingling with our military personnel or our first responders, there is very little else that competes with such an experience to remind you of just how great a country we live in. These guys — the common folk of America — get it. At a gut level, where much of real living takes place, they get it. They intuitively comprehend the danger confronting America, and they are all too ready to come to her defense. While our intellectual effete (oops, I mean elite) spend there time either browbeating America for past transgressions (real or imaginary), or, in the alternative, engaging in a lot of meaningless intellectual navel gazing, America’s man in the street understands the threat to his country’s existence — and, in sharp contrast to his breast beating counterparts in academia, HE UNHESITATINGLY RESPONDS TO THE CALL!!
What these people understand that many in academia — again, particularly the social studies area — do not is human nature. You see, they live life. Our social studies academicians do not — they study it. And then, never having lived life, they can do 2 things (1) tell you how others have, and/or (2) how you should. As you know, they are wrong on both scores. I used to think that the problem with academic thinking is that it is just that — ACADEMIC. Now, I see it somewhat differently — they don’t think “academically;” many of them don’t think at all — they theorize, pontificate, hypothesize, bloviate, and propagandize. In short, they are not only out of touch with reality, they compound this problem of ignorance with one of arrogance — they don’t hesitate to tell you how things should be even though they obviously don’t know how things are. The astute reader might then ask himself, how do you get there from here, i.e. if you don’t know what the problem is, how can you appropriately opine about the solution?? Beats me, but they do. What they clearly don’t understand are things like honor, duty, and/or country. What they clearly do not employ is logic, facts, common sense, or an understanding of human nature.
I can’t tell you how good it was to be in the company of these every day heroes; men and women who form the spinal column of America. Whenever I get a bit down listening to the appeasers on the left, as they do whatever they can to undermine this country, a day with cops, firemen, or military types puts me into a great frame of mind — and reminds me of the business at hand — protecting and preserving America.
One final point on the subject of Academia — all is not lost. There are institutions of higher learning that actually do produce “higher” learning and, in doing so, do not feel the need to run down our country. Two of my favorites are Hillsdale College and Pepperdine University. Also, in assisting you with a college selection, I strongly recommend a publication of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Choosing The Right College. It provides an excellent rundown of the various characteristics and concerns that go into selecting a college, and does so in the context of most of America’s colleges and Universities (or, in the alternative, go to the ISI website, College Guide where you can, for a nominal cost, profile the particular college in which you may be interested. In addition, the Organization (ISI) is an excellent citizen, does wonderful work, and I strongly recommend that you check it out and, after doing so, support it.