To the Editor:
I am not surprised that The Herald's editorial last Friday supported President Obama ("Yes We Can 2.0," Nov. 2). It is no shock that the editorial page board salivated at the president's "progressive social platform." I am, however, stunned that those who attend an elite university spend no intellectual effort examining the race outside of their own, myopic self-interests. The editorial essentially says, "As long as college students get benefits, and someone else pays for them, who cares?"
Why discuss the true role of the federal government? Why challenge the meaning and scope of the U.S. Constitution? Why examine who can lead the nation to a stable, growth-oriented future? Why question the economic impact of providing these endless benefits and how the nation shall pay for them? Why wonder about the future impact of tens of trillions of dollars in debt and tens of trillions dollars more in spending promises?
I am not disappointed the editorial page board supports and will vote (voted?) for President Obama; I expected it. I am saddened that my alma mater, which promised to provide the best education in the world, has devolved to the point where the students' primary concern is what they can get free. Even sadder is the fact that bright Brown students cannot see that someone eventually pays for the free stuff. Today that is done by borrowing roughly $1 trillion per year; that is money that will be repaid someday. Your generation will pay those bills. The fact that the intellectual elite of our nation do not understand or care about this crushing debt scares me and bodes ill for the future of our nation.
Jonathan Bastian '89
