Must be a mistake...

[calguard66]

No way... it can't be true.

After all these years, I'm becoming fashionable and trendy??



Wall Street Journal
December 20, 2002
Flag Wavers On Campus


Newspapers are brimming with stories of the anti-war movement on campus -- of peace rallies, marches and teach-ins. Yet try as the media might to stoke Vietnam protest nostalgia, a recent survey suggests that most of today's students are patriotic and pro-military.

Harvard University's Institute of Politics conducted an October poll of 1,200 undergraduates that was recently published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Nine out of 10 described themselves as "very" or "somewhat patriotic."

John Kerry will not be pleased to learn that nearly 70% also said they supported multilateral action against Iraq if the inspections failed. Support drops to 18% if the U.S. goes in without United Nations backing, though that figure largely mirrors the broader U.S. public.

National security and foreign policy have pushed aside domestic worries in student minds. Some 33% said terrorism was the issue that concerned them most, followed by Iraq at 25%. Jobs and the economy, as well as education, came next with 7% each. A mere 1% said the environment mattered most.

Here's the real heartburn producer for peacenik professors: The students listed the military as their most trusted government institution. A full 70% said they trusted the military to do the right thing "all or most of the time." This was followed by the President (58%) and Congress (52%). And what institution did college students trust the least?

The media: 12%.

[C5]

Mmm... I've become very untrustful of polls in general... but maybe they're more reliable in the USA.
If it's true, well... I'll choose to be happy for the members of the military out there.

[Sarge]

Ahh... Americans coming back to the values that some of us never left... Maybe there is hope for the future.

You're a grand old flag
You're a high-flyin' flag
Forever in peace my you wave
Everybody sing!
The emblem of
The land I love
The home of the free and the brave
Should old acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the grand old flag!



(Don't mind me; I just got to go flying for the first time in two weeks. Over an hour and a half of practicing landings in a gusty cross-wind always puts me in a really good mood.)

[REG]

That's a no-brainer. With Vietnam, there seem to be no reason why we got involved in that war in the first place (other than stop the spread of communism). The impending war with Iraq is fueled by our war against terrorism, with the 9-11 event being our rally cry.

Of course, a lot of critics didn't want to get into a war with Iraq because even if we depose Saddam, there will be another dictator ready to step up. So why go through the effort? Simple: so there will be one less tyrant in the world.

[Jabara Eris]

Makes me feel sorry for today's college students.

Seems like they never learned to think for themselves.

As for me, I'll keep my trust in J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.

Praise Bob!

http://www.subgenius.com

[Dan Stack]

Originally posted by Jabara Eris
Makes me feel sorry for today's college students.

Seems like they never learned to think for themselves.

Well, having graduated in '94, I remember college teaching me how to think - i.e. the US is EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we were taught that in every non-engineering class. Unless that has changed, students placing trust in the US gov't would seem to be an act of independent thought.

[Ramage]

As has been pointed out several times over the past year here in the U.S., polls are becoming less and less an accurate description of what is happening in the country.

Why?

Because many people automatically refuse to talk to pollsters and many make up false answers -- this is especially true with regards to politics.

Why?

Lots of different notions. No single solid answer.

This does not 100% invalidate ALL polls, but it should make us very wary in the future of polling in general. We may not be getting a complete picture.

Which is sad

Because apparently only number speak, not opinions

[Dan Stack]

Ramage is quite correct, polls nowadays are very difficult to do a good job on - I know that one of the greatest quality of life investments I have made is Caller ID. When the phone rings, if I don't recognize the caller or they block themselves, I let voicemail pick it up.

[REG]

I trust media with a grain of salt (my family have a history of high blood pressure, BTW).

There was a time when the news media is simply telling the truth, no matter how boring it may be. But nowadays, news is competition, and getting ratings takes higher priority to telling the whole truth. They only tell you the only truth to sensationalize an event. That's when you have no choice but to research and get the whole story, even if it turns out to be nowhere near the embellishment on TV, newspaper, and/or radio.

I do admit there are decent journalists out there, but there are ambitious journalist who want nothing more than to advance their career and end up as a succeeding anchor host for Dan Rather.

[Dan Stack]

Let me give you an example from the Boston Globe.

A few months ago, the Globe had a front page picture showing a huge hoard of people with a caption stating something like "People Protest Anniversary of Founding of Israel".

The truth was a little different. The gathering was actually a celebration for the anniversary of the founding of Israel. The picture actually showed several hundreds of people, of whom the great majority were there to celebrate. There were perhaps a few dozen people there gathered to peacefully protest.

The moral - yes, there were protesters, but they made up a small minority. But the Globe gave the impression, by their use of captions, that everyone there was protesting.