College Student Demonstrations

I watched in awe the night that Usama Bin Laden was killed. Almost immediately the area in fromt of the White House was filled with people waving American Flags and shouting USA! USA!
Shortly after that the scene shifted to New York City Times Square and Ground zero mimiced the pictures in DC. Reports came in of the same thing happening in locations across this great county.

What was most interesting was the demographic make up of these demonstrators. Racially they were mixed. There were about as many males as females. what was unusual is that most of the demonstrators appeared to be college aged.

While watching the coverage I pointed this out to my wife. Her reaction was, "They are just looking for a reason to party."

"I hope it is more than that" I replied.

In the past week I was speaking to a co-worker who is 26. I said something to him about the age of the demonstrators and that most probably don't even remember 9-11

He quickly corrected me and reminded me that a college student would be 19 to 24 today. These kids would have been 9-14 in 2001. using simple math the average age would be 12 or 13 in 01.

I remember being 12 I remember things that happened to me at 12. I can remember political events back to age 10 when JFK shook my hand while in Peoria in 1960. I was 13 when JFK was killed. Like most Americans who were alive that day, I can tell you where I was when I heard the news. I mean exactly where I was take me to the classroom and I will point you to the exact spot in the room! That was at 13.

So I assume these college demonstrators do remember 9/11. not only do they remember... They hold a grudge!

Today I was sent some news footage from the campus of LSU. It seems as though a hippie born 40 years too late was attempting to burn a flag. Believing that his fellow students would support him, he made his intentions know well in advance.

The videos that I have seen of the event show hundreds of Pro America anti flag burning students. The potential flag burner was hit by water balloons while the other students shouted USA! USA! He was finally driven off by police for his own safety. His flag never saw a flame.

It appears as though today's college student is more patriotic that the college students of the late 1960s. Agree or Disagree? Answer the poll question above.

I know that today's volunteer military is the Smartest best trained and best equipped of any time in history. Perhaps the kids who opt out of military service for college are doing their part on the campus across the country.

Bloggers note: I joined they Army in 1969 after one year of technical school. I had the rare honor of being a soldier in Vietnam while enrolled at Cal State Berkley. The Army was paying for me to take a correspondence course from Berkley while I was in Vietnam. Cal Berkley was at the time the heart of the antiwar movement. To be a student there while in Vietnam put the moron in oxymoron. When I came home the choice was simple back my fellow soldiers or back the anti-war movement. I could not betray my brothers in arms. Nor can I do so today! right or wrong, how the military got involved, doesn't matter we must support our troops! They do what they have to do so we can do what we want to do.