Author: Jon Siemko
Welcome to my online home for all my political writings and musings, toryredux.com. I currently live in a suburb west of Toronto. Please take a look around and stay awhile!
Common Sense in a Senseless World
Conservatives call for the relocation of the Beijing Olympics.
“Today, I call on Justin Trudeau to actively seek the relocation of the 2022 Olympic Games. Canada should not be sending athletes to China in the middle of a genocide.
“Canada has long been a world leader in standing up for human rights and dignity. But today, we have become a nation of silence, not one of principled action.
“I think Canadians would agree that it would violate fundamental ethical principles to participate in an Olympic Games hosted by a country that is committing a genocide against part of its population.
“The Olympic Games and the athletes who compete in them have and will inspire the next generation – and they must continue to provide such inspiration. “But not in China, in the shadow of a genocide.”
The Decline of History Degrees
Yet in centers of learning across North America, the study of the past in general, and of wars in particular, is in spectacular eclipse. History now accounts for a smaller share of undergraduate degrees than at any time since 1950. Whereas in 1970, 6% of American male and 5% of female students were history majors, the respective percentages are now less than 2% and less than 1%, respectively…
The revulsion from war history may derive not so much from students’ unwillingness to explore the violent past, but from academics’ reluctance to teach, or even allow their universities to host such courses. Some dub the subject “warnography,” and the aversion can extend to the study of international relations. Less than half of all history departments now employ a diplomatic historian, against 85% in 1975. As for war, as elderly scholars retire from posts in which they have studied it, many are not replaced: the roles are redefined.
An eminent historian recently told me of a young man majoring in science at Harvard who wanted to take humanities on history, including the U.S. Civil War. He was offered only one course — which addressed the history of humans and their pets.