Academic Rants

--> Re-Writing History Contemporary American history professors spend a part of every course attempting to define the “American Century.” This is the story of the nation’s rise at the close of the 19 th century and its pinnacle following World War II. Although there are countless components that contribute to the rise of the United States, the victories in global conflicts and the development of a strong economy and military complex are of great significance. America’s narrative points out that the country did not become a colonial empire but rather a democratic one. Our textbooks proclaim that America emerged as the policeman to the world while equally touting the American Dream. In many minds, the United States was the perfect country and its democratic model was the envy of countless nations. Such beliefs fueled revolutions across the globe in attempts to replicate the virtues of American freedom. The Greatest Generation defines that narrative. Our victory ...

--> Outnumbered In countless articles highlighted during the 2016 election, Americans told interviewers that: “they were being outnumbered.” This refrain was repeated thousands of times since and will probably be repeated many more times in the future.   But exactly who was being outnumbered and why?   Was this simply a racial concept or was this an ethnic or nationalized identification? A recent National Geographic article, “As America Changes, Some Anxious Whites Feel Left Behind” provided some clues. [1] It’s author Michele Norris wrote: “Outnumbered is a word that came up often when I talked with white residents of this eastern Pennsylvania town. Outnumbered in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Outnumbered at the bank. Outnumbered at the Kmart, where the cashier merrily chitchats in Spanish with Hazelton’s newer residents.” A Google search of the phrase “outnumbered whites” yields a set of statistical data.   Somewhere between 2040 and...