By Ray Cardello for October 29, 2023, Season 22 / Post 45

Higher education in America has been a misnomer for some time. As tuition rates have outpaced inflation by many times, the quality of education has proportionally fallen. The government has been complicit in the rising cost of a college degree, making student loans easy to get regardless of the amount. It is not unusual for a student to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree and a student loan balance of over $250K. That is a difficult position for someone to enter adulthood and their earning years looking at a mortgage size note. This dilemma is compounded when your choice of study is Studio Arts. Making the wrong choices can be costly and a burden for years.

It has become painfully apparent that higher education in America is an extension of the K-12 indoctrination that is the primary purpose of the Department of Education. Our children are no longer taught to be independent thinkers but disciples of the Woke philosophy. That philosophy starts with dismantling any love or allegiance of and to America. Students are convinced that America is an evil country built with slavery on the graves of Native Americans. These beliefs led to demands for Student Loan Forgiveness and Reparations for Blacks and Native Americans. They are also taught the myth that Capitalism is wrong and favors the upper class, and Socialism is the way of the future. That economic model worked so well for Venezuela and Cuba. By giving these students a tainted view of history and the inability to self-think, these students lap up this left-wing rhetoric like mother’s milk.

The anti-Israel demonstrations and protests have shown how low these students have fallen. They are showing how ill-informed they are and how susceptible they are to becoming sheep or lemmings in the Leftist movement. Anti-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations and walk-outs are forming at major colleges and universities across the country. The irony about the theme of these demonstrations is there is no country called Palestine. There are Palestinians who live in Gaza. This point shows the ignorance of these students. The second is the absence of anger at the brutality and sub-human behavior by Hamas when they invaded Israel on October 7. The rape and killing of women, the beheading of children, the vicious killing and hostage-taking of the elderly, and the burning alive of families do not seem to be a problem with these mindless students. Still, the retaliation of Israel on Hamas in Gaza is tantamount to war crimes. It makes no sense and defies logic.

Usually, this behavior by college students gets attention, but there are no ramifications. Not this time. Student protestors are finding job offers rescinded, and schools allowing these protests are feeling the pinch. Long-time donors have notified the schools that the money will no longer be coming. This action by corporations and donors is a massive swing of the pendulum. The actions are also an indication of a tonal change in the country. Woke may be experiencing a slow death, but it is clear the party is over for far-left thinking. Thank God.