Friday, May 21, 2010

The Lonely Professor



The Lonely Professor
(by R.P.Edwards)

Pity the professor
Alone at liberal U
Daring to depend on facts
Instead of PC’s spew
Rowing hard against the flow
Disparaged for his words
Yet "his" will stand the test of time
When truth…is finally…heard

It was a bit of a fluke, a misstep, a “since you’re here” kind of thing.  Working the evening shift I had some time available in the a.m. and, since “honey do’s” weren’t on the radar (not even close), I plopped down on the couch and, there it was, the second half of the classic movie, “Mr. Smith goes to Washington.”  Well, my wife caught some of it and, since she couldn‘t or wouldn‘t shirk her chores, she asked that I record the rest.  “Okay, darling.”  As it turns out, I recorded more than asked.  Yes, somehow the movie, “The Mortal Storm,” which came on after Mr. Smith, tagged along for the ride.

The Mortal Storm (1940) was another Jimmy Stewart movie (guess it was “his” day on TCM), anyway, this tale told of a German family in the Bavarian alps around the time of Adolph Hilter’s ascension to power.  The patriarch, Viktor Roth (played by Frank Morgan, the Wiz from the famous “over the rainbow” movie) was a non-Aryan and, although a learned and respected professor at the local university, his “fact” finding that “all” human blood is the same (i.e. Aryan’s aren’t special) eventually gets him locked up…and then killed.  Seems the good professor wouldn’t bow to the Nazi PC.  It cost him his life.

Now, back to me.  Later in the day I spent a few minutes perusing the prominent paper from across the river.  In the St. Louis Post Dispatch I read of how a gifted Physics Prof, Jonathan Katz, was booted from an elite team of “experts” who had been compiled by the Obama folk to help solve the Gulf oil conundrum.  Why was he axed?  Because--wait for it--he speaks his mind on a variety of subjects.  And some of his “thoughts” are not politically correct.  In particular, his essays on homosexuality and climate change are quite irksome to those who have the president’s ear (and heart, no doubt). 

So, here’s to you, Professor Katz.  Keep writing and speaking your mind.  Sometime in the future, when objective truth again has value; your words will stand.

Update:  When this blog was first posted I provided links to the Post-Dispatch article, the Washington University web page for Prof Katz, and a link to his article, "In defense of Homophobia."  Now, all three are unavailable.  Hmmm.

That’s what I think.  How about you?  Click comments below…and say.

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