JustRalph
11-04-2009, 08:20 PM
Mike Medved writes a good one............
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/11/column-judge-the-person-not-the-r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9-.html
Judge the person, not the résumé
‘A nation that proudly offers fresh starts and open doors regardless of old world titles or family connections should reject snobbery based on either academic attainment or aristocratic ancestry.’
By Michael Medved
The poisonous polarization of the culture has produced some ill-considered attacks that call into question one of the most fundamental American values: the notion that each individual deserves to be judged on ability, not background, and evaluated on performance rather than credentials.
For instance, some of the pre-emptive dismissal of Sarah Palin's upcoming book Going Rogue — with its massive first printing of 1.5 million — represents an elitist attempt to disarm a political combatant by questioning her qualifications. Echoing themes from the 2008 campaign, the former governor's many detractors focus contemptuous attention on her teenage participation in beauty pageants, youthful ambitions as a sportscaster and checkered academic career (transferring among four colleges before finally finishing a journalism degree at the University of Idaho).
Some of the nation's most influential commentators face similarly sneering criticism based on educational background. I recently received an angry letter from a Texas teacher who despised all of conservative talk radio. "You're a pathetic joke, just like all the other professional blowhards who pollute the airwaves with their rants," he cheerfully opined. "Look at the biggest clowns in your business Limbaugh, Hannity, Glenn Beck. How many college degrees among all of them? The answer is zero. You're just a bunch of ignorant boobs who think that if you shout loud enough no one will notice you have nothing to say."
It's true that my colleagues Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck all failed to earn university degrees, but they've won huge audiences based on undeniable skill as persuasive communicators. For those who are entertained, provoked or inspired by an opinionated figure on radio or TV, academic distinction is entirely irrelevant.
Cronkite, Novak, Safire
The public recently mourned the loss of three universally respected journalists — Walter Cronkite, Robert Novak and William Safire. No one questioned their brilliance, or their contributions to the culture, despite the fact that they all dropped out of college short of graduation. By the same token, sophisticated computer geeks may feel disdainful of Microsoft products, but they don't boycott that company because Bill Gates left Harvard without earning a degree.
Cronkite, Novak and Safire rose to fame in an earlier era, when far fewer Americans graduated from college. In 1960, only 8% of adults 25 or older had earned university degrees. Today, the percentage of college graduates is nearing a third of all adults. In the election of 1948, the voters paid scant attention to the fact that President Truman never attended college. But today, with college education far more common and accessible, no politician could run a credible presidential campaign without some post-high school diploma.
more at the link
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/11/column-judge-the-person-not-the-r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9-.html
Judge the person, not the résumé
‘A nation that proudly offers fresh starts and open doors regardless of old world titles or family connections should reject snobbery based on either academic attainment or aristocratic ancestry.’
By Michael Medved
The poisonous polarization of the culture has produced some ill-considered attacks that call into question one of the most fundamental American values: the notion that each individual deserves to be judged on ability, not background, and evaluated on performance rather than credentials.
For instance, some of the pre-emptive dismissal of Sarah Palin's upcoming book Going Rogue — with its massive first printing of 1.5 million — represents an elitist attempt to disarm a political combatant by questioning her qualifications. Echoing themes from the 2008 campaign, the former governor's many detractors focus contemptuous attention on her teenage participation in beauty pageants, youthful ambitions as a sportscaster and checkered academic career (transferring among four colleges before finally finishing a journalism degree at the University of Idaho).
Some of the nation's most influential commentators face similarly sneering criticism based on educational background. I recently received an angry letter from a Texas teacher who despised all of conservative talk radio. "You're a pathetic joke, just like all the other professional blowhards who pollute the airwaves with their rants," he cheerfully opined. "Look at the biggest clowns in your business Limbaugh, Hannity, Glenn Beck. How many college degrees among all of them? The answer is zero. You're just a bunch of ignorant boobs who think that if you shout loud enough no one will notice you have nothing to say."
It's true that my colleagues Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck all failed to earn university degrees, but they've won huge audiences based on undeniable skill as persuasive communicators. For those who are entertained, provoked or inspired by an opinionated figure on radio or TV, academic distinction is entirely irrelevant.
Cronkite, Novak, Safire
The public recently mourned the loss of three universally respected journalists — Walter Cronkite, Robert Novak and William Safire. No one questioned their brilliance, or their contributions to the culture, despite the fact that they all dropped out of college short of graduation. By the same token, sophisticated computer geeks may feel disdainful of Microsoft products, but they don't boycott that company because Bill Gates left Harvard without earning a degree.
Cronkite, Novak and Safire rose to fame in an earlier era, when far fewer Americans graduated from college. In 1960, only 8% of adults 25 or older had earned university degrees. Today, the percentage of college graduates is nearing a third of all adults. In the election of 1948, the voters paid scant attention to the fact that President Truman never attended college. But today, with college education far more common and accessible, no politician could run a credible presidential campaign without some post-high school diploma.
more at the link