Thursday, February 23, 2006

Alien Culture

They provide a product that is fundamental to the economy. They have amassed great wealth that makes them impervious to change. They avail themselves of Western technology while sneering at the culture that produces these benefits. They receive millions of dollars annually from their U.S. supplicants, most of whom would be horrified if they knew what the funds were used for. They silence the voices of moderation, and extremism and anger rule.

I am referring, of course, to America’s elite universities. Poor Larry Summers. Five futile years of trying to implant Western values in an alien culture. Another failed conqueror.

[Addendum: three years and counting to build a constitutional democracy in Iraq...why so impatient? It took this university (with a $16 billion endowment) ten years to put soap in its dorms.]

No comments: