UC-Berkely Excludes "God Bless America" from 9-11 Memorial

www.calpatriot.org/issueupdate/911.html

 

I find it interesting that none of the group wish to give up their federally backed guaranteed student loans nor does any university spokesperson seem to want to give up taxpayer funding or grants. If one wishes to deny their country, it seems hypocritical to continue to ask for their financial support.

 

Checked the site and found an update on same:
http://www.calpatriot.org/issueupdate/response.html

I think we should bear in mind that all we have so far are rumors, and rumors with a conservative spin on them to boot. I would save my outrage for what is actually done, not what may possibly be in the works.


Cheers,

 

Thank you, Tom. We shall see what develops.

 

Was anyone else aware of this national outrage until it was mentioned in this little fringe campus paper?

I have noted, at the ballgames I watch on TV, that the fans are back to singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, instead of "God Bless America," as they had for a few months. Well, we all know the Commies invented baseball anyway.

If there is a God, I do hope He or She is benificent enough to bless the entire planet, and not single out the 7/10ths of 1% of it that has been called 'America'?

John (the only person I know who knows
all four verses of the Star Spangled Banner) Bear

 

7/10ths of 1%?

Tony

 

I didn't see anything in that article about people choosing to "deny their country." In fact, I can actually see their point - that they want to focus on remembrance and mourning for all of the victims (whether US citizens or not), rather than US patriotism. I don't happen to agree with it, and it's probably just another case of attempted political correctness carried to the point of silliness, but I still think that it's a perfectly valid perspective. I'm not sure why you would ridicule the people involved or question the right of those US citizens to retain their privileges - is it simply because they have an opinion that differs from yours? That seems downright un-American, IMO. My only off-the-wall guess is that it stems from becoming overly involved in the idiotic "liberal vs. conservative" lunacy that has enthralled our political system.

 

Is there anything political at UC that *isn't* "fringe"?

This particular story was on KPIX a couple of days ago, as I recall. The UCB Chancellor "denied" the story, but his remarks were something to the effect that the observance would include "contemplative" music, so I interpreted it as an implicit admission that the story was likely to be true after all. (There is nobody more adroit at weasel-speech than a university administrator.)

The problem with UC Berkeley is that the place is so incredibly politicized that nothing that happens there can ever be sincere or from the heart. Everything has an agenda and a context. (Usually several competing ones at once.) Everything is calculated and confrontational. There are a dozen political interest groups ready and waiting to hijack any proposal and make it a vehicle for their own particular cause. And a dozen other groups are ready to step up to the plate to stop them. (That's why the UC campus police earn so much overtime.)

In my opinion, if anything good came out of the tragic events of a year ago, it was the way that the country pulled together in response. Young and old, urban and rural, black and white, we all felt that we were Americans and that we were in this thing together. That was very important to me.

Is the problem here the idea that someone would ask for God's blessing for a particular thing, opposed to everything at once? Or that the particular thing to be blessed is the United States?

If the concern is the former, I am sure that if a God exists, that he can bless more than one thing simultaneously. If the concern is the latter, I have nothing to say.

 

I thought you knew me better than that, John.

I know all four verses, plus the punctuation.

 

WEEI radio in Boston (a sports talk station, of all things) had the President of the UC-B Graduate Student Union on for an interview last week. Apparently, the Star Spangled Banner or any other specific songs won't be banned, but neither will they be part of the official program. Different students will be allowed time at the microphone, and if they want to sing God Bless America or anything else, they'll be allowed to do so. Sort of an "open mike" type of thing.

However, the idea of handing out red, white, and blue ribbons was nixed, for fear of "offending" someone. As mentioned previously, I bet no one would be so offended if their Federal student aid or loan checks were on red, white, and blue paper that they'd return them uncashed. It also seems lost on these people that UC is a state (i.e. GOVERNMENT) school.


Bruce

 

As was reported in the later article I linked to, this policy (of handing out only white ribbons) was scrapped.


Cheers,

 

I was in a bit of a hurry when I posted my first reply, so I forgot to mention that the President of the UC-B GSU mentioned at least 6 times (during the 20 minutes I had the radio on) that "diversity" would be the deciding factor as to who would be selected to speak during the open microphone session.

Would anyone care to bet that this diversity won't extend to conservatives who support President Bush? Call me a pessimist, and I'd love to be proven wrong.

BTW...the part of the interview I heard was from 0910 until 0930, Boston time, which meant that she had to get up well before 0500 California time. She deserves some credit for that.


Bruce

 

Creatures Great and small...

To Tom Head:
(Who doubts the story's veracity) The author of the story appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, September 9th, and vouched for the facts of the story. Apparently, the UC-Berkely Chancellor appeared at a hastily called news coference once the matter was outed; the official impugned the Patriot, while neither confirming nor denying the charges, and announcing the cosmetic change of ribbon color.

It seems Alan Charles Kors' "Shadow University" is alive and well!

To John Bear:
Yes, examining the full verses of "The Star Spangled Banner" reveals that it's a fight song. But just what does Baseball have to do with commemorating the unprecidented 9-11 Memorial of a terrorist attack that launched our nation into a war?
Baseball? War? A game...and Death? What's your point..?

It's also true that religion--even the so-called universal religions--grows out of ethnocentrism. Given the profound philosophical issues raised by problem of evil (i.e., why does an all-powerful, all-loving God permit evil to exist in His universe), I doubt that the question of whether or not "God Bless America" is unduly nationalistic or not scarcely matters.

The truth is that we hope He or She does bless us (and I'm an atheist) when we jump from 100 floors up, just to become a pink mist as we splat into the earth--especially if Yosef Bodansky is right (Hardball, September 9th) in saying uncounted fellow citizens jumped to their deaths 363 days ago simply because bin Laden hoped to revive a dying religion.

Even I recognize religion enters whenever we face hopes beyond hope (not that I beleive it will do any good--I don't, as an atheist-- but I accept those who believe otherwise) .

--Orson

 

"The Hilarious Dilemma of Liberal Patriotism"

By Lawrence Auster
View from the Right | September 10, 2002 | frontpagemag.com


Liberals’ dilemma over how to balance a condign show of patriotism in time of war with their actual contempt for America can lead to some hilarious results, especially at our wildly anti-American elite universities. On one hand, the scale of the September 11th attack, and the danger we're all still in, requires some serious display of concern for country. On the other hand, the very symbols of our country are, to the campus left, as the cross to a vampire.

The following article from "The Chronicle of Higher Education,"
[Sptermber 9] posted here in its entirety, concerns a controversy at the University of California at Berkeley over whether to display red, white, and blue ribbons at their September 11th memorial. Notice in particular the comment by the editor of the student newspaper, Rong-Gong Lin II (sic), that displaying the national colors on a day of national remembrance would be “exclusive.” Which, of course, suggests that America's very existence as a country is “exclusive.”

<http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=2922>

 

It's ashame that people can't just put their own agendas ("liberal vs. conservative," etc.) aside and just grieve, or at least allow others to grieve without injecting so much bullshit. Hell, it's only been a year and already people are trying to use the tragedy to further their own causes. It really is sad...

Personally, I'll continue to celebrate every September 11th. I won't let a bunch of terrorists, or our own politically motivated jack offs for that matter, steal that day from me.

 

Those that attempt to slur open-mindedness with the term "liberal" only serve to reveal themselves, tragically, to be afflicted with a terminal case of the opposite.

Perhaps some people see the events of 9/11 as a tragic and criminal matter, and not as a cause for celebrating patriotism. Perhaps the two notions are separate. And perhaps some people are seizing upon the former to pump up the latter for reasons very much disconnected with those events. A floundering economy, terroristic attacks, corporate scandals, a military stretched too thin, seemingly impassable airports, budget deficits (again!), uneasiness in the workplace. All of these problems remain after the flag-waving is through. Patriotism is fine. (I swore to defend the Constitution myself on several occasions.) But perhaps we could keep our eye on the ball.

 

Re: Creatures Great and small...

It took some while to dawn on me that O'Reilly ("No spin zone") and Fox News ("fair and balanced") were not meant as satirical comment.

Lawrie Miller
http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks

.

 

Thanks, Gary. That expresses my feelings as well.

When the members of Congress, of both parties, gathered on its steps and started to sing, I was moved. What they communicated to me, to the country and to the world was heartfelt and sincere.

That's the spirit that is important to me. If *anything* good came out of the events of 9-11, that was it. The confidence that despite all our customary divisions and resentments, we share important things with one another as well.

It pains me to see that solidarity hijacked and exploited by all the customary cynicism, hostility and agenda-mongering.

 

Thank you, Gary, for expanding our vocabulary.

And BTW, Happy Birthday!

 

And here I was thinking that I showed great restraint. I guess I've watched too many Dennis Miller episodes (RIP) over the years.

It's a day early, but thanks. Too bad that I have a synchronous class session tomorrow night.