Sunday, April 14, 2002

An Unrepentant Wall Flower

Foxnews -- of all places -- has a report on how Westpoint and to a lesser degree the other service academies are placing new emphasis on critical thinking and the reading and writing skills gained from studying literature.

Yeah -- right. When Hell freezes over.

This quote illustrates how little has changed:

Capt. William E. Hecker III, a West Point alumnus who teaches a required English literature class, says he has a hard time motivating some undergraduates because of... the campus mindset.

"They don't think it's a particularly manly or military vocation," says Hecker.

Even funnier is a bit of verse by Gen. George Patton who evidently liked to say his two great passions were war and poetry. It is touted along with memoirs written by Ulysses S. Grant as the two shining examples of publication by Westpointers:

Knowing once more the whitehot joy/Of taking human life.

Gee... how profound.

Reading this article took me back to the night I choose my major at Annapolis.

There were essentially three broad areas then -- Engineering, soft sciences such as Chemistry and Computers, and the belittled "Bull" majors of English, History, etc.

I'd already realized what misogynist SOBs the engineering professors were. The only difference between a "Bull" major and an engineer was the senior year class load and one additional math class junior year.

Not being into misery for its own sake and by that point unconcerned about not appearing "manly", I planned to select History.

So there I was -- in Smoke Hall -- loitering with another female classmate who was to be my most favorite roommate our senior year -- but that is another story -- when up comes this jovial Admiral.

At that time, I was still in awe of senior officers -- but what happened next dramatically lessened this unquestioning respect.

He asked us what we planned to major in. Both of us had decided history -- pretty much for the same reasons. Nothing against engineering, but I'd had enough gratuitous bs just because I was a female midshipman and was not looking for more.

This Admiral frowned at our response and said, "Nonsense! Be engineers or you will be wall flowers in the ball room of life."

I remember thinking it was probably a good thing I didn't care for waltzing... and we both went history -- big bulls.

It is a choice I've never regretted.

My fellow wall flower and roommate went on to earn a masters in Space Orbital Engineering.

Me? Post grad in Strategic Intelligence and a Juris Doctorate.

posted by Bohica at 3:53 AM