stephanie
02-25-2007, 02:51 AM
Very true..??
Do liberal students look to their parents or professors to form their political views? FSM Contributing Editor Luke Sheahan has the answer, and more, as he examines more results from a recent FSM study of college students in America
Influencing Young Minds
By Luke Sheahan
Last week I examined college students’ views on America and its role in the world and some of the contradictions between those views. This week, I will examine students’ views regarding terrorism and US foreign policy and reasons for some of the contradictions and discouraging results.
Students are not oblivious to the threat of Islamic terror. 67 percent said that it was a significant threat to the world and only slightly less said that “terrorism is caused by an ideology that condones violence to achieve political objectives.” 86 percent said that, if given the chance, Islamic terrorists will attack the US again. 66 percent said that the terrorists would cause as much destruction as they can, even if that means detonating a nuclear weapon. Make no mistake, college students are paying attention to the issue and understand the threat that Islamic terror poses to the world. Watching the World Trade Towers fall over breakfast did not leave them unaffected.
Despite students’ general understanding of the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, they seem confused about why the War on Terror is being fought. Two-thirds believe Islamic terrorists are driven by an ideology which seeks to use violence as a means of coercing policy changes in opposing regimes, as evidenced by the Madrid attacks. Yet, 83 percent believe that the War on Terror, at least in part, is “encouraged or caused by racism or prejudice.” Excuse me? Is it not driven by a violent ideology? Did they not attack us? Did we not already establish that?
37 percent also believe that official U.S. policy crosses humane and reasonable lines in the War on Terror. Do they not know how human rights concerns have hamstrung our military? Do they not realize that Abu Graib, etc. is not official U.S. policy and that the U.S. troops responsible were duly court marshaled? From the media rhetoric they are exposed to regarding Guantanamo Bay, we should probably just be thankful more students don’t think that way.
43 percent of students believe that the terrorist threat is growing, but they do not assign this to Islamist political ideology. Rather 46 percent believe this is due to U.S. actions in Iraq. This gets a little confusing because these students watched the World Trade Center burn and they watched the invasion of Iraq on television. They know that our action in Iraq cannot possibly be the cause of terrorism because it took place after 9/11. They also agree that terrorism is caused by a violent ideology that has been around for centuries. How can this violent ideology be caused by a policy only a few years old?
the rest.....
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=759485
Do liberal students look to their parents or professors to form their political views? FSM Contributing Editor Luke Sheahan has the answer, and more, as he examines more results from a recent FSM study of college students in America
Influencing Young Minds
By Luke Sheahan
Last week I examined college students’ views on America and its role in the world and some of the contradictions between those views. This week, I will examine students’ views regarding terrorism and US foreign policy and reasons for some of the contradictions and discouraging results.
Students are not oblivious to the threat of Islamic terror. 67 percent said that it was a significant threat to the world and only slightly less said that “terrorism is caused by an ideology that condones violence to achieve political objectives.” 86 percent said that, if given the chance, Islamic terrorists will attack the US again. 66 percent said that the terrorists would cause as much destruction as they can, even if that means detonating a nuclear weapon. Make no mistake, college students are paying attention to the issue and understand the threat that Islamic terror poses to the world. Watching the World Trade Towers fall over breakfast did not leave them unaffected.
Despite students’ general understanding of the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, they seem confused about why the War on Terror is being fought. Two-thirds believe Islamic terrorists are driven by an ideology which seeks to use violence as a means of coercing policy changes in opposing regimes, as evidenced by the Madrid attacks. Yet, 83 percent believe that the War on Terror, at least in part, is “encouraged or caused by racism or prejudice.” Excuse me? Is it not driven by a violent ideology? Did they not attack us? Did we not already establish that?
37 percent also believe that official U.S. policy crosses humane and reasonable lines in the War on Terror. Do they not know how human rights concerns have hamstrung our military? Do they not realize that Abu Graib, etc. is not official U.S. policy and that the U.S. troops responsible were duly court marshaled? From the media rhetoric they are exposed to regarding Guantanamo Bay, we should probably just be thankful more students don’t think that way.
43 percent of students believe that the terrorist threat is growing, but they do not assign this to Islamist political ideology. Rather 46 percent believe this is due to U.S. actions in Iraq. This gets a little confusing because these students watched the World Trade Center burn and they watched the invasion of Iraq on television. They know that our action in Iraq cannot possibly be the cause of terrorism because it took place after 9/11. They also agree that terrorism is caused by a violent ideology that has been around for centuries. How can this violent ideology be caused by a policy only a few years old?
the rest.....
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=759485