THE CITADEL LOCKED DOWN
In response or, more accurately, in reaction to the recent tragic and brutal loss of life on another American campus, The administration of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, has decided to lock itself down. Mark up another touchdown for fear.
Are the Cadets cowering in their bunks, begging for protection, fearing the worst? No. These students are, after all, learning how to effectively wage war and protect their country in addition to their academic education. We haven't seen one white flag from any Cadet's window. Who, then, is so fearful?
Certainly the administrators of many colleges are fearful not so much of an actual attack upon the school, but of the fallout, the flak, the heat they would take if something, anything went wrong now whether real or imaginary. Let's not do anything which might be a bad career move and let's not make anyone uneasy especially our insurance carriers or our lawyers.
Long ago we tossed out free speech and other inconvenient elements of the Constitution on American college campuses as we gave the forces of radical chic a free hand in funding, curriculum and campus conduct. Now, we're dealing the fear card from the bottom of the deck.
If you trade in your liberty for comfort and the illusion of safety, you make a fool's bargain. If we allow every event of terror whether great or small to drive us into hiding then we deserve neither comfort nor safety. We will have surrendered to enemies of our own making.
We can only hope that our current crop of college students will have the good sense to reject the intimidation by stylish radicals of the left or right wings and the stout heart to reject the physical fear which TV broadcasters of every bias are feeding us to fan their ratings. The State Motto of Vermont is, " LIVE FREE OR DIE." The State Motto of South Carolina is, "WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE." We could use equal measures of both.
posted by Windviel at 2:46 AM
6 Comments:
I was as surprised as you were when the Citadel announced they were putting locks on the doors. 150+ years of testosterone and weapons and nobody was killed, why the fear all of the sudden?
Prudence after the tragedy at Virginia Tech is wise. However, there is no need for paranoia.
Our thoughts on both counts.
By the way, the blank panel has no secret meaning, it's simply one of the Blogspot glitches.
Thanks for your comment.
Yes, Jet, it does seem like both college and corporate administrators have become a cowardly lot. The prospect of offended groups picketing their facilities or having to face some nattering air head with a microphone seems a fear greater than that of violence.
Perhaps a more realistic fear is justified. That's the sure and certain knowledge that predatory law suits are on the way. Whether a life is lost, an injury sustained or an insult to a member of a politically fashionable ethnicity is alleged, the lawyers will find and recruit the plaintiffs.
Ahh, for the good old days when the only "shot-guns" on campus were of an entirely different sort.
Yes, and the went BONG rather than bang.
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