In April, there was a big to-do at BYU about Dick Cheney being the Commencement speaker. Nothing could be a bigger waste of time than protesting against Dick Cheney for the following reasons:
a) He's a vice-president
b) Nobody really cares what he does or says
c) Protesting a domestic politician is so 1960s
d) Did I mention that he is a vice president?
I suspect that the real reason for the protest was for BYU students to show that they can rebel against the university establishment. I guess that when you live in Provo, Utah, you just don't have much else to do or think about.
I believe the real reason is much more than demonstrating a successful defiance of the establishment. My youngest son participated in this alternate commencement. He is a BYU senior and was asked to play his violin before Nader spoke. It was a great opportunity to express himself through music as well as make the kind of contacts that he will likely keep for life. The demonstration was a remarkably creative student response to an unpopular administrative decision. The organizers were highly motivated and intelligent in how they addressed this passionate issue. I suspect that the skills that they developed in the long, frenetic and sometimes desperate experience of getting this event to materialize have launched a few of them into careers that they had not previously imagined.
ReplyDeleteI have the 'privilege' of living in Provo. A lot of my friends got in trouble for participating in this protest and expected my sympathy because supposedly if you're not Mormon in Utah Valley you're automatically suuuuuper liberal 'bro'. I basically told them this exact same thing... Along with, "You're idiots for getting yourselves kicked out of BYU when you have two semesters left."
ReplyDeleteI actually met Dick Cheney when he was the Sec of Defense. I was a part of briefing he was given. He's a nice guy. I'm a big fan, was before I met him too.
ReplyDeleteLooking at college kids and their lack of respect, I think ignorance is what happens to families when both parents work outside the home. Why bother having kids to let a day care center raise them, and don't get me started on the lack of discipline day care's offer when the kids stop being kids and start being brats.