Columnist+Project

Columnist: Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times
Entry #1 Column written: 3/12/11 Entry Written: 3/20/11 [] Pay Teachers More – Nicholas D. Kristof

The column covers the problems that are now faced in the teaching profession. It discusses how teaching as a job is declining in respect and priority, not just in pay. Kristof asserts throughout the column that in order for the U.S. to compete with other countries, then something needs to be done to attract the best to the profession. He says that while before, the best of the best were the ones teaching the country’s young minds, now “47 percent of America’s kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers come from the bottom one-third of their college classes”. Kristof attributes this to the lessening pay that teachers are receiving. He uses facts to support his thoughts, including in his column that in New York in 1970, new teachers in public schools were paid $2,000 less than a starting lawyer. Now, that lawyer takes home $115,000 more than the teacher. He also uses evidence to support that better educated teachers produce students that make more and end up better off in the long run compared to teachers that aren’t as well educated: “A teacher better than 93 percent of other teachers would add $640,000 to lifetime pay of a class of 20, the study found”. While Kristof says he not a fan of teachers unions because they make it easier for “low achievers”, he still believes that they are underpaid. He also believes that because “governors mock teachers that are lazy”, it makes it even harder to attract the best to the profession. As Kristof said, “These days, brilliant women become surgeons and investment bankers”.

My first reaction to this was to wonder how new, “lower achieving” teachers are able to actually get a job teaching because of the news I’ve heard in the past about hiring freezes in teaching. But I have to admit, I think everything he said is true. While all this probably isn’t happening much right now (or at least I don’t think it is), I think it will become a greater problem once all the “brilliant” teachers retire, making room for teachers that “come from the bottom one-third of their college classes”. What really made his column effective was that he supported pretty much everything with proven facts from studies that have been made. Using these facts, he is able to show the reality of what is going on and shows how big of a problem this is becoming.

Entry #2 Column written: 3/16/11 Entry written: 3/20/11 [] Bahrain Pulls a Qaddafi - Nicholas D. Kristof

This column covers the current unrest and protests happening in Bahrain. Kristof compares the protests in Bahrain to those that have occurred in surrounding Arab countries while highlighting the more gruesome things that have happened. Kristof thinks the most “wrenching to watch [is] America’s ally, Bahrain, pull a Qaddafi and use American tanks, guns and tear gas as well as foreign mercenaries to crush a pro-democracy movement — as we stay mostly silent”. He then goes on to describe grotesque beatings that security forces in Bahrain have done to protestors. Somehow, he’s able to easily transition into comparing Bahrain into an apartheid state, with the segregation being between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, the latter ruling the country. He gives an example of this by telling about when one of his colleagues was stopped by Bahrain security forces and pointed guns at him. He told them he was American, and they lowered their guns, saying, “We love Americans!” His friend recalled that the policemen “sounded like they were hunting rats.” Kristof then explains why this might be happening, and proposes some alternate actions that, in his opinion, should have been made. Such actions like “The king could have met some of the protesters’ demands — such as fire the prime minister and move to a Jordanian- or Moroccan-style constitutional monarchy”. He then gives another example of the discrimination between the two Muslim groups by saying what recently happened to Shiite doctor. He didn’t have the same fate as Kristof’s colleague, though. But he still ended up fine in comparison to some Bahrainians that haven’t been as lucky. Kristof ends his column by urging Americans to have the “courage to speak out” like “brave women and men demanding democracy in Bahrain”.

My first reaction to reading this was horror. I knew that there were beatings going on, but they were made all the more real and terrifying by the detailed descriptions Kristof gave. Such beatings as a teenage girl being clubbed and tear gas being thrown at a middle aged man gives me shivers, and not in a good way. These example however, back up Kristof in his want for something to be done. The real-life examples of discrimination towards Shiites back up his idea that Bahrain is becoming an apartheid state. They make his arguments more effective and help paint a picture of the total unrest happening there.

Entry #3 Column written: 3/19/11 Entry written: 3/20/11 [] The Japanese Could Teach Us a Thing or Two – Nicholas D. Kristof

This column covers the recent disaster in Japan. However, it does not cover the earthquake, tsunami, or radiation leaks, but focuses instead on the people. He starts off by saying that when America is “under stress”, we “trample the least powerful and most vulnerable among us”. Kristof says we can learn from the Japanese, who, even though are under a tremendous amount of stress, have become more “knit together more tightly than ever” rather than coming “apart at the seams”. An example that “epitomizes” this is the workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant who continue to work there despite being exposed to enormous amounts of radiation so that they can help protect their fellow citizens. Kristof goes on to describe the “civility and selflessness” of the Japanese that’s “kind of national honor code, exemplified by the way even cheap restaurants will lend you an umbrella if you’re caught in a downpour; you’re simply expected to return it in a day or two”. Kristof goes on to say that while the government has been “hapless”, the people “have been magnificent”. But, he points out a downside to the “tight-knit” Japanese: they can be discriminatory against those who don’t fit in, such as with a group of Ethnic Koreans who are “stigmatized”. But, even the schools in that group’s neighborhoods are excellent.

When I first read this, I wasn’t surprised how well the Japanese are taking all these disasters, all things considered. I remember seeing in the news a line of Japanese waiting in line for food. Rather than fighting each other over it (which is what would probably happen in America if any type of disaster occurred), they waited patiently and quietly in line. For me, the column only reasserts what I’ve seen in the news. Kristof is able to back up his belief of the Japanese based off of observations he’s made from when he lived there. This also helps make his argument for them more valid. I especially like how Kristof, at the end of the column, added a bit of what I think was supposed to be humor to lighten the somber mood. He told an anecdote of his son’s birthday party while living in Japan. All of his son’s classmates were invited and they taught them how to play musical chairs. The children “were traumatized by having to push aside others to gain a seat for themselves. What unfolded may have been the most polite, most apologetic, and least competitive game of musical chairs in the history of the world”. Reading that made me smile just a bit, and it showed how even Japanese children are civil and selfless.

Entry #4 Column written: 3/23/11 Entry written: 3/26/11 [] Hugs From Libyans – Nicholas D. Kristof

This column covers the American military intervention that is happening in Libya. Kristof says that this intervention is looking “less like the 2003 invasion of Iraq than the successful 1991 gulf war to rescue Kuwait from Iraqi military occupation”. Meaning, that America’s help is actually helping save the lives of citizens, rather than just making the situation there worse. He also points out that this intervention is showing progress in the U.N. doctrine of “responsibility to protect”, which “[declares] that world powers have the right and obligation to intervene when a dictator devours his people”. He says that while it took the world “three-and-a-half years to respond forcefully to the slaughter in Bosnia”, it only took three-and-a-half weeks to do the same for Libya. Kristof backs up his opinion with information from the president of Refugees International, who said that every Libyan he spoke to “agreed that the military strikes had averted ‘a major humanitarian disaster’”. He goes on to address the uncertainties critics of intervention have and points out the certainties of the intervention, which is that it’s helping save Libyan civilians.

When I first read this, I was relieved to hear that the intervention in Libya, in both the eyes of the government here and in the eyes of civilians there, is doing something to help. I haven’t been able to follow the news as much, so I didn’t know how things have been going in Libya. I was surprised when I read about the difference in time it took to respond to Bosnia in comparison to Libya, but as Kristof said, “intervention will be inconsistent”. I liked how he was able to back his opinion with a firsthand account from someone in Libya. Though his argument was compelling, he didn’t have as many actual facts to support it. Nevertheless, the argument was still effective.

Entry #5 Column written: 3/10/11 Entry written: 3/26/11 [] The Case for a No-Fly Zone – Nicholas D. Kristof

In this column, Kristof addresses “the case for a no-fly zone”, relying mostly on the opinion of others to prove his opinion: that there should be a no-fly zone imposed on Libya. He first uses information from a former Air Force chief of staff, General Merrill McPeak. He talked about the positives of imposing this from a military standpoint, said “I can’t imagine an easier military problem”. According to him, even if just a few jets were to fly over, that would ground the Libyan Air Force. Another thing that could be “dead easy” would be to jam radio signals there. Kristof then uses the contradictory opinion of U.S. secretary of defense, Robert Gates, who said that a no-fly zone would be “a big operation in a big country”. Kristof then uses more information from General McPeak to show that that isn’t necessarily true. Kristof finally asserts his own opinion saying “If the Obama administration has exaggerated the risks of a no-fly zone, it seems to have downplayed the risks of continued passivity”. From there, he talks about how when he recently talked to his Libyan friend over the phone, it seemed like the conversation was being monitored; his friend kept on praising Qaddafi. Kristof then uses quotes from Senator John Kerry to further his opinion that the “risks of inaction” would be greater than the risks of action.

When I first read this, I was wondering where Kristof’s own opinion was. While it was obvious from the many quotes he used that he is for the no-fly zone, he never asserts his own opinion until the end, relying on other’s opinions first. I do, however, agree with Kristof (and General McPeak and secretary of state Robert Gates and Senator John Kerry) that a no-fly zone would definitely change the tide of how things are going in Libya and therefore should be considered (but the effect it would have on civilians should be considered too). Kristof certainly backed up his opinion, but not with facts, but with quotes from others with the same opinion. To me, the first half of the column seemed like a feature story, and the second half is where the characteristics of a column started to come out. This was very different from how he normally backs up his opinion, but it still worked.

Entry #6 Column written: 3/5/11 Entry written: 3/26/11 [] Is Islam the Problem? – Nicolas D. Kristof

This column discusses how the Middle East has stagnated in comparison to how it was centuries ago and discusses “the reason for the region’s backwardness”. Kristof uses Max Weber’s reasoning that “Islam is inherently a poor foundation for capitalism” and says that to him, that doesn’t make sense. He then goes through another possible theory, but says that doesn’t seem right to him. Then he brings up the idea of Timur Kuran that what held back the Middle East; “various secondary Islamic legal practices that are no longer relevant today”. These practices have made it harder for the Middle East to compete with industrial and financial corporations in Europe. But, these impediments aren’t a problem now in the 21st century. So, why aren’t things going well economically there? According to Kristof, the problem is a psychological one. “Many Arabs blame outsiders for their backwardness, and cope by rejecting modernity and the outside world”. Hopefully, the crises in the Middle East will lead to a new start with a “hopeful trajectory”.

When I first read this, I was really confused because I didn’t know what direction this column was heading in. When I saw the title, “Is Islam the Problem?”, I thought it was going to be about all the unrest in the Middle East, not about the fiscal issues there, nor a history lesson (which is what the beginning is). I’m not quite sure what is argument is either, but whatever it is, he uses research to support is. Towards the end, where Kristof interjects his own opinion, I finally understood what he was trying to get at: that the Middle East’s “backwardness” isn’t due to financial problems, but due to their rejection of “modernity and the outside world”. I’m not quite sure if I completely agree with this, but I do agree with the ending statement of the column, “Islam isn’t the problem and it isn’t the solution, it’s simply a religion — meaning that the break is over, there are no excuses, and it’s time to move forward again”.

Entry #7 Column written: 3/26/11 Entry written: 3/27/11 [] Freedom’s Painful Price – Nicolas D. Kristof

This column discusses how protesters in Egypt, although President Mubarak has stepped down, are still treated badly, but this time by the military. He follows the story of female activist Salwa al-Housiny Gouda. Through interviews with her, Kristof tells of the humiliation and unfairness protesters still face. He says “the army has increasingly taken over the role of domestic security from the police” and have cleared Tahir Square, detaining about 190 demonstrators, one of them 20 year old Gouda. Kristof then proves his point that the protesters are being treated badly through her testament; she “was extraordinarily strong in telling her story”. She went on to describe the humiliations she had to face after being taken to a military prison: a strip search in a room with the doors and windows wide open, a “virginity exam” conducted by a man, and the possibly of being accused of prostitution, which is “the way they can harm a woman the most”. She was released a few days later and wasn’t charged with prostitution. Kristof uses this to show how the military in Egypt is acting “above the law”. He also proves his point by using information from a Cairo human rights lawyer, who said “Some [demonstrators] have been sentenced to five years in prison after military trials lasting 30 minutes or less, without any right to choose their own lawyers”.

My first reaction to this was disgust, mostly after reading what happened to Gouda. It’s hard to believe that after Egyptian protesters went through so much to get Mubarak to resign that they still have to face the same thing now that he actually has. I agree with Kristof that the military is acting “above the law” and he supports his argument with Gouda’s unfortunate experiences, which definitely adds to it by giving the reader a connection with what is happening. This makes his argument effective, because it makes it easier for me and any other reader to put ourselves in the protesters’ shoes because there is a firsthand account of what is going on there. Kristof is definitely able to show “freedom’s painful price”.

Synopsis:

Nicholas D. Kristof is a topical commentator (or at least he was in the columns I looked at), giving his opinion on mostly controversial issues abroad (from unrest in Bahrain and Libya to the disasters in Japan), using a combination of facts, research, and firsthand accounts to validate his arguments. By doing this, he’s able to easily sway readers towards his opinion, or at least make them understand it. His voice is very strong for the most part, but in some of his columns (such as “The case for a no-fly zone”), he loses his voice, instead relying on that of others. He usually states his view somewhere in the beginning and then uses a combination of proof and his own words to finish everything off. But, other than occasionally using other’s voices, his voice is pretty distinctive and I think I could recognize his work without a byline. I really enjoyed reading Kristof’s view of things and I will continue following his columns (even though I don’t have to anymore).

comment on Yhet's and Paulina's entries (they wouldn't post): Yhet: After going through your entries, I clicked the links and read some of his columns. They do seem pretty interesting and I agree with you that he's smart (based on what he writes)but doesn't flaunt his intelligence in his writing. He seems very down to earth and from what you've written, it seems like he's able to go on and on about a certain topic all the while giving his opinion and not making the column boring. Paulina: After going through your entries, it seems like all your columnist writes about has something to do with the economy in California (especially "the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer"). Still, it seems like he did a good job of showing the harsh realities of what's going on through all the statistics he uses. And it also seems like he knows what he's talking about, which is definitely a good thing.