Ever since the horrific acts of Sept. 11, it has been interesting to listen to people, especially young people's views on what is going on. It is quite unique and refreshing when students engage in necessary dialogue that does not simply regurgitate what reporters say or what they hear on shows such as "Hardball," which reduce conversation into an entertainment of whether the guests are ridiculed.
Rather than using conversation as a societal tool to advance its well being and the well being of the earth, we are quick to use labels that put shackles around the ankles and wrists of our expressions. Such is the case with an organization called ACTA, or American Council of Trustees and Alumni, whose primary leadership includes Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, and Sen. Joe Lieberman.
A couple of months ago, ACTA released a report titled, "Defending Civilization: How Our Universities Are Failing America and What Can Be Done About It." According to the report, universities have failed to back up the "war on terrorism" 100 percent and are "reinforcing the mindset that it was America that was to blame."
The report goes on to prove this by citing 115 statements made by students and professors on campuses across the nation. In response to what they summarize as a "blame America first" stance in universities, ACTA is seeking to strengthen courses in American History and Western Civilization. With a "politically correct" language that celebrates notions of ethnocentrism and racism, the report suggests a connection between this "anti-American bias" on campuses and the presence of culturally diverse curriculum and viewpoints.
For instance, the report claims that ever since the 1960s, courses at the university level have been plagued with "often narrow and trendy classes and incoherent requirements that do not convey the great heritage of human civilization." While I agree that universities have a long way to go to embrace the multiplicity of voices that have shaped almost every field and stretched almost every horizon, I do not believe that Western Civilization is the only great heritage to discuss.
ACTA claims they are not trying to discourage the right of academic freedom but are trying to foster criticism of our professors and hold them accountable to their roles as teachers. However, this report is everything but a constructive criticism of attitudes and perspectives, and is more like a child pointing fingers. To ACTA, defending civilization is a game of play school tattle-tale and its ultimate goal is to keep feeding the academic infrastructure with ethnocentric notions of how to live.
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Ultimately, this report is a damaging statement to our society when "defending civilization" resembles a verbal crusade that seeks to reproach all those who criticize what our military spending is doing to Afghan people and around the world.
Where is the civilization if we are not able to criticize our government, as well as our professors, without receiving threats to our devotion to our nations' health? A defense of civilization should be more synonymous with opening ourselves to the landscapes of cultures that this world contains, as opposed to creating fences that serve only to isolate who we are and label what we should be.
"Defending civilization" is not only an act of learning from our histories, but to criticize how we live through our problems today. Lynne Cheney, founder of ACTA, should not only criticize so-called "anti-American" professors, but also investigate why her husband refuses to disclose his relationships that have had profound impacts on how the United States uses and manufactures its energy.
In conclusion, but not the end, who gives anyone the right to equate a great civilization with a certain culture and not speak to the fact that what makes civilizations great is how we respect and embrace different foods, dances and colors?
by Maceo Carrillo Martinet
Daily Lobo Columnist
Questions, comments or suggestions can be sent to Maceo Carrillo Martinet at conuco8@unm.edu.
