Most already capable of critical thinking

To the editor

   Once again Ann and Peter Kindfield have returned to their above-all-it-all perch to teach us how to become more informed — presumably as they are. Thanks, but no thanks for the lesson in critical thinking.
   For all their earnestness and good intentions, the bottom line is that the Kindfields simply cannot believe that they just might be wrong on the issues; therefore, they cannot understand it when the rest of us don’t share their peculiar worldviews. So they search the Internet and TV and radio dials for their own set of "facts" to support their way-out-in-left-field contentions. The Kindfields are so dead sure that if we would only check out "their" information sources, we would know what a terrible place America really is.
   Then, when their ideas cannot gain any traction, they chide us, as if we were lazy high school students, for not knowing the real "Kindfield" truth. They also have the chutzpa, writing in the May 15th Beacon, to ensure us that they recommend only those news sources that "we can verify as legitimate and truthful."
   There you have it — the Kindfields actually believe they are the final arbiters of the truth. Perhaps this amazing power came with their Ph.D.s.
   The Kindfields’ search for their truth has led us to some strange and wonderful places in recent months:
   They introduced us to the words of Alfie Kohn, an "educator" who argues that the United States is the most dangerous country in the world, is engaged in race-based terrorism and therefore brought the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks on itself. It’s no wonder Mr. Kohn (I forget if he is a Ph.D.) opposes grading our school children — in US history, Alfie’s a straight F student.
   They endorsed the Web site of International ANSWER, an organization that is closely allied with the Marxist Workers World Party. The WWP has openly supported Saddam Hussein (R.I.P.), Kim Jong Il and Fidel Castro and actively calls for the overthrow of the capitalist system.
   They used selected facts and half-truths to bolster the Internet legend that the US supported Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Similarly, they quoted President Eisenhower out of context to contend that he would have been against the Iraqi war.
   And most recently, in the May 15th Beacon, they told us to turn to the speeches of Senator Robert Byrd for the truth. This would be the same Robert Byrd who once wore the white robes of the Klu Klux Klan and later helped lead the fight to defeat the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As educators, is it possible that the Kindfields did not know the well documented facts of Sen. Byrd’s atrocious background? Or is that they are so utterly desperate for supporters that they would invite us to take heed of the words of a former Klansman? Or maybe it’s just that the Kindfields are willing to forgive and forget — when the transgressor turns up on their side of the political spectrum.
   If only they were so forgiving of my sense of humor …
   But as the Kindfields apparently have no sense of humor (They are so very concerned, you see), I will not make any jokes comparing their rants to those of the deposed Iraqi Information Minister (R.I.P.).
   But I would ask them to consider that maybe, just maybe, most people do have the ability to think critically for themselves, and after careful consideration of the facts they have come to the conclusion that the Kindfields are usually wrong. Deal with it.

Tom Griffo
Flemming Drive