The closing of the American Mind

Universities were designed to be centers for the exploration of knowledge. Far too many, however, have become little more than indoctrination centers for the so-called “progressive movement,” a shoddy synonym for socialist politics.

The descent of American colleges was first significantly noted in 1987, when author Allan Bloom published his landmark book, “The closing of the American Mind.” He reported that the curriculum rejected rationality and reality. The situation has since grown worse.

Throughout the nation, professors, students, and guest speakers alike who challenge the leftist orthodoxy are harassed and marginalized. Insane policies that defy the very foundation of the First Amendment have been enacted to prevent the free exchange of ideas. Political correctness—which in practice can include the rejection of anything that challenges left wing biases—has replaced open discourse.

Clear examples of an increasingly totalitarian bent can be seen in the treatment of teachers and guest lecturers who refuse to kowtow to the Leftist academic establishment.
As per studies, men cannot viagra on line satisfy their partner during their intimate moments. Introduce your baby to recommended new foods with a gap of at least 2 days to super cheap viagra develop their taste and accomplish nutrition requirements. It requires only a few minutes for discount bulk viagra becoming effective in the blood and show wonders for several hours. Of course there are no other restrictions regarding ingestion of cialis levitra online and it is not compulsory to consume the drug after meals.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is an extraordinary and fascinating person. An African American woman who rose to the position of Secretary of State, she is eloquent, brilliant and modest. She also happens to not pander to left wing stereotypes, and therefore the progressive establishment utterly despises her.

Following her invitation to serve as commencement speaker at New Jersey’s Rutgers College, the usual collection of extremists protested vigorously. In a move that symbolizes her integrity, Ms. Rice wrote that “Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” and decided not to attend the ceremony.

We need to take a hard look at our universities, which charge continuously skyrocketing tuition fees for the privilege of a four year experience that used to be provided free in Soviet reeducation camps in Siberia.

Quick Analysis

China’s Tech Targets

Chinese technology is changing and its leadership is using it, along with espionage, to challenge the West in a number of critical areas. The United States is only one of its targets. Previously, Beijing’s spies primarily sought Western technologies as a way to skip generations of develop cost and time to modernize its economy. Today, its acquisition of advanced technologies, and now also its indigenous development, makes the communist giant a threat to freedom-loving people everywhere. This week Nan Mulchandani, the CIA’s chief technology officer, said Director William Burns is preparing for an “infinite race” with Beijing for artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. He argues the US must pivot toward providing American spies with the latest transformative technologies to outcompete China. Mulchandani says this means updating everything the agency does “from operations to the analytic function, support functions and other piece there.” America, he suggests, needs to alter its thinking toward viewing this not as a race with a finite end point, but as an ongoing competition. Mr. Mulchandani predicted that the next area of competition would “be primarily a software war that is powered by something like AI” rather than hardware fueled by software. That competition, however, is not confined to simply acquiring critical technologies for use in the future. China is also challenging the US in space. China announced today it launched a groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon. The space capsule will arrive in four days and collect 4.4 pounds of moon rocks and regolith, or moon dirt. Beijing’s desire to one day become a space power and scientific force is for pragmatic purposes in 2024 a fait accompli. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said during a NASA budget hearing this week, that “while the US remains the global leader in space exploration, we face increasing challenges internationally.” Referring to China’s space station, Lucas said: “We cannot allow China to become the front-runner in space exploration… There are too many consequences for our competitiveness, our national security, and our continued ability to explore space.” A new report released this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says that the United States, to further its geopolitical interests and maintain a strong domestic economy, must approach every aspect of economic and trade policy through the lens of global technology competition. The Biden Administration’s approach, it says, discounts the landscape of competition between China and the US and may “jeopardize US advancements in emerging technologies… which could cede the advantage to China….” In particular, the report recommends that the US take action now because quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) need a federal policy to ensure the country can spur the entrepreneurship and R&D efforts foundational to the strength of the technology sector. As China’s Communist Party (CCP) becomes more hostile to the United States and other Western nations, its aggressive activities abroad expand and intensify. Chinese spy cases far outnumber those of Russia and every other nation. CSIS reports that since President Xi took over in 2012 there have been 224 incidents of spying. Estimates of the long -term economic, scientific, and national security cost to the US run into the billions and have “created immeasurable damage to national security with the theft of weapons technology, including nuclear weapons test data… China has added the theft of massive quantities of personal information, political coercion, and influence operations, to its espionage activities.” The CSIS reports says that 49% of incidents of spying in the US directly involved Chinese military or government employees, with private Chinese citizens accounted for 41%. In 29% of the espionage cases the person involved was attempting to acquire military technology, while in 54% of the incidents it was related to commercial technologies. Almost half of the cases involved cyber espionage, usually by state—affiliated actors. No matter where one turns today China is challenging the West, from the depths of our oceans to outer space. The United States cannot count on China to be a good global citizen and refrain from attempting to enforce its vision of world order with Beijing at the apex. The time is growing short for the West to take action. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.