Good Point
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 12, 2009
Forbes ranks West Point as nation’s top college (via Insty):
A report released Wednesday by Forbes magazine ranked the U.S. Military Academy as the top college in the country in their America’s Best College review. “Marked by an intense work ethic and drive to succeed on all fronts, the West Point undergraduate experience also allows graduates to leave without a penny of tuition loans to repay,” Forbes stated in its release.
World War II Memorial -- Washington, DC
Yeah. You know, I’m on vacation this week — hence the lack of blogging, if you noticed — and I’m in Washington, where it’s hot and humid but priced perfectly for a family vacation. And at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum today we saw an IMAX film about the Air Force’s real-life “Top Gun” training and simulation program, Red Flag.
And, wow.
The flick is propaganda all the way, but, guess what, so are all films. But coming away from this, and having attended a number of highly-ranked educational institutions myself, I said to myself and a significant other, my, these guys — the U.S. military as a whole, notwithstanding sad notable exceptions– are the most competent people in the country, aren’t they?
I know. So many awful things do get done wrong by the military, it seems. It’s so easy to second guess them, though, given the scope of what they’re tasked with. But if you sensibly weigh the things they do right with proper consideration of the risks of doing it wrong, both locally and globally, extraordinary mastery of multiple arts and scientists required to execute their tasks, the discipline and focus, and —
Then there’s this.
The members of the military essentially do everything that is physically and technological possible in the pursuit of their missions. You and I look at, say, the way you would go about rescuing a downed pilot and say, well, if you could rappel down a rope and, uh, I guess…. oh never mind.
They rappel down the rope. They fly upside down. Anything a human can do, they find people brave enough and dedicated enough to go out there and DO.
For YOU.
How many Ivy Leaguers does that describe?
Avigdor MBawlmawr said
Excellent post, West Point provides training for practical idealists who want to serve their country. Here in Israel, where I’m sojourning, family friends of religious Zionist bent had a special occasion related to military service. Their oldest son studied in a Hesder yeshiva (combining Torah study with military service) becoming, according to his father, “a very good Talmudist.” Baruch Hashem, he’s a ben Torah and a couple weeks ago he did his first solo in an F-16. Gd bless the United States and its armed forces, but certain things you can only do in the land of Israel.