Update on My Letter to Princeton
Part of what I wrote to Princeton:
left-leaning kids ... today can sail through 16 years of education without ever encountering a contrary point of view. Ironically, it is kids on the Left who are being let down the most, raised intellectually as the equivalent of gazelles in a petting zoo rather than wild on the Serengeti.
Princeton gazelle student writing in the Daily Princetonian:
In the morning, I woke up to a New York Times news alert and social media feeds filled with disappointment. The United States had democratically elected a man who, among so many other despicable qualities and policies, is accused of and boasts about committing sexual assault. As a woman passionate about gender equality, women’s leadership, and ending sexual violence; as someone dedicated to the Clinton campaign and ready to make history; and, quite frankly, as a human being, I didn’t know how to process this. I still don’t. I felt for my friends and anyone who feels that this result puts their safety and their loved ones’ safety at risk, acknowledging that I am not the person this outcome will affect the most.
I didn’t leave my room Wednesday morning. I sat and sobbed and I still have the tissues all over my floor to prove it. When I absolutely had to get up for class, I put on my “Dare to say the F-word: Feminism” t-shirt and my “A woman belongs in the House and the Senate” sweatshirt to make myself feel stronger. Still crying, I left my room.
After hearing the election results, I had expected that the vandal would have torn down my angry note or left some snide comment. To my surprise, it was still there, and people had left supportive notes beside it. I have no idea whether the vandal is a Trump supporter or a misguided prankster unable to fathom the negative impact that a Trump presidency will have on so many people. But I know that the love and kindness others anonymously left gave me the support I needed Wednesday morning.
In every election since I was about 18 years old, I woke up on the day after the election to a President-elect I did not support, one who championed policies I thought to be misguided or even dangerous. But I had the mental health to go on with my life; and I had the knowledge, from a quality western history education (which no longer seems to be taught in high school or at Princeton), that our government was set up to be relatively robust to bad presidents; and I had the understanding, because I ate and drank and went to class and lived with many other students with whom I disagreed (rather than hiding in rubber room safe spaces created by my tribe), that supporters of other political parties were not demons, but were good and well-intentioned people with whom I disagreed.
disqus_00YDCZxqDV:
In other words Warren you got up and went about your day as normal because unlike the writer of that letter you were not a complete prat!
November 14, 2016, 9:19 amCC:
There has never been a politician of any sort with whom I have agreed on everything. Following a party platform makes you a tool, since these platforms are often inconsistent (help the middle class! raise taxes!) and change constantly. Many policies do the opposite of what is claimed or simply fail. There only exist least bad choices if you have given any thought to issues at all.
November 14, 2016, 9:24 amCT_Yankee:
Marni Morse is a politics major - seriously? I was thinking theater, with a major in DRAMA. I suppose a little snowflake might be able to actually believe changing whiteboard messages was horrible vandalism, while not mentioning any problems with the set fires, smash windows and block the streets crowd. Yeah, I can almost feel the anguish and tears for her and her but-hurt buddies to realize that Hilary for Prison isn't a slogan, it's a prediction. Hilary ran so hard because she was running for her life. She lost.
November 14, 2016, 11:28 amMatthew Slyfield:
"and I had the knowledge, from a quality western history education (which
no longer seems to be taught in high school or at Princeton), that our
government was set up to be relatively robust to bad presidents"
Except much of what has made our government robust against bad presidents has been undone over the last 50 years.
November 14, 2016, 1:13 pmrxc:
I fell very lucky to live (and be a citizen) of a country that has such a robust political system that I really don't worry about whether the winner of the Presidency will install a totalitarian regime. I lived thru the Nixon impeachment proceedings as a naval officer, All of the officers on my ship watched his resignation on TV together, and there was no hint that anyone had any interest in military intervention. Our judicary is robust, and the bureaucracy has more of a backbone than you might think, from listening to doomsayers on both sides. Everyone who works in the government "pledges to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic", and I believe that they take that oath seriously.
And, of course, we have the militia, all 320,000,000 of them, armed with 350,000,000 weapons, as a very last resort, if things were to get out of hand....
November 14, 2016, 3:09 pmNot Sure:
"I didn’t know how to process this. I still don’t."
Let me help you out here, buttercup. It's like this... all the stuff you were so anxious to cram down the throats of your opponents? Well, it ain't happening right now. Oh, and by the way, open wide because you set yourself up for it. Enjoy!
Glad to help.
November 14, 2016, 4:08 pmjohnmoore:
Hmmm... Michelle was never proud of her country until Obama was nominated.
Coyote has considered every president elected since he turned 18 to be misguided or even dangerous.
Both come across as a bit pathetic.
November 14, 2016, 8:52 pmkidmugsy:
Surely we should all refer to Princesston nowadays?
November 15, 2016, 8:42 am