Editor,
I just wanted to take a moment and let the University know how important professors like Dr. Berthold are to some of us.
It seems that the University experience for many undergrads has become little more than a series of requirements they must endure in their quest to rush off and meet the status quo. Don't bother thinking while you're here. Do the minimum, expect the maximum, charge the glorious path of least resistance and get your butt out into the "real world" where you can start making the big money.
I feel fortunate to know a small cadre of undergrads who reject this notion of the University as vocational training, people who take the time to actually have their own ideas.
People who use their time here to think aggressively - to investigate everything, to analyze, critique and question every theory, ideology, or belief they can get their brains around in an effort to understand it better, as opposed to blindly trusting policy and rushing off to do their part as good consumers. It is professors like Berthold who foster this kind of freethinking.
It is this investigation and analysis that sets the University graduate apart, and it is University leaders like Dr. Berthold who show us through example how to live an academic life even after 30 years at the podium. I was proud that he said what he did.
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Regardless of how it was taken or the timing of the statement, the man exercised his right to free speech and made clear his need to question our government. His sentiments are not what I applaud, but his willingness to say them.
Dr. Berthold mentions that he believes himself more patriotic than those "mindless flag wavers," and I believe he's right. Love for our nation has nothing to do with our government, they are two distinct bodies . . . the people and the politicians.
Take, for example, Abraham Lincoln, arguably one of our most revered presidents. Why is he so esteemed? Because he fought to abolish slavery. He questioned his own country's policies. He looked at what the government was allowing to happen and said, "This isn't right, we need to stop it." He didn't blindly adhere to policies, he questioned them; every great leader in America has. King, Kennedy, Franklin - they were all agitators of the state. Only through questioning can we find our shortcomings and affect worthwhile change.
So, before you rush to condemn Dr. Berthold (again) for speaking out against the government, just remember that he was leading from the front - showing by example that the academy is one of the last bastions of free thought and speech in this country. He showed all the undergrads how to think for themselves and not just while away their time here waiting to become mass consumers.
I for one am proud that a professor so courageous is a part of our faculty. And for those of you who think I support him because I'm some sort of radical liberal, know this - I spent eight years serving our nation in the military. You can love your country without trusting your government.
John D. Bess
UNM student
