Seeing Hersh's face plastered all over campus, I asked myself if I would buy a used car from this man. The answer came back to me in a way that quite surprised me, since I was the one both asking and answering the question. Obviously, I wouldn't, because he knows nothing about cars. That answer surprised me. It wasn't my usual sarcastic attack on a person for whom I have no respect, like a college professor for instance. There are lots of people from whom I wouldn't buy a used car, not because I have no respect for them, but for the same reason -- their ignorance about cars. But this did lead to some other sarcastic comments that were quite to the point. In fact, they made me aware of why I would never go listen to a journalist for any reason, let alone the issue of cars.

Consider it this way. The Engineering Department at your school is giving a talk on something rather complex, yet interesting, like fluid dynamics in brake systems. You decide to go, because you want to learn something about fluid dynamics. When you arrive at the auditorium, the chairman of the session announces who the speaker will be. It's a local journalist. At this point you're quite stunned, and I dare say rightly so. A journalist? The question that immediately pops to mind has nothing to do with selling cars. Rather, it's a question of, "What the hell does a journalist know about fluid dynamics?" The answer comes to you quickly--nothing. So you leave, knowing the gentleman is out of his field of expertise, if not his mind. One doesn't find many journalists repairing levees in New Orleans, nor dangling from helicopters to pluck people from roof tops.

A little later you go down to the medical school to hear a lecture on heart surgery. The chairman of the session announces the speaker. Again, it's a journalist. Again, you're a bit non-plussed. Things are starting to look a bit bizarre. You ask yourself just what a journalist knows about heart surgery. Again the answer comes back--nothing. So, again you leave.

The point to this little play is that you're not going to listen to these gentlemen because they have no training nor education in fields that require quite a bit of it, if you're to be taken seriously therein. So, that being the case, why would I ever want to sit down to a lecture on U.S. foreign policy only to be told that the speaker is a ... journalist?

"Well," you might say, "Everyone has an opinion on foreign policy!" I'm sure they do. And, as well, everyone might have an opinion on heart surgery. But they sure as hell aren't going to open up my chest. You can have an opinion on anything you want, and still be wrong, wrong enough to kill people. It happens in heart surgery and for sure it happens in foreign policy, perhaps more often in the latter.

So, let's ask ourselves, why is it that foreign polilcy should be the field of someone who went through college assiduously avoiding courses with any substantive content, including courses in proper English, while fluid dynamics and heart surgery can only belong to the rigorously educated specialist? The obvious answer is that it shouldn't be. Maybe we should investigate a bit about why.

"What's involved in foreign policy? Can't we just see it by watching the five O'clock news?"

Well, you see, Billy, no. In foreign policy you have to deal with a foreign country, or several. That almost certainly means a country that speaks a language different from yours. That, in turn, means you have to know something about how language affects culture, and you can't know that unless you know the language in question. Tell me, Billy, you studied a foreign language in college, didn't you?

"Oh, hell no, I avoided that. That's why I majored in communications."

Oh, I see. Well, then, at least you know that in dealing with a foreign country, the geography is significantly different from our own. That in turn affects how people grow their food, conduct commerce, build their cities, and ultimately affects their economy. You do know that, don't you, Billy?

"Oh, sure I do! We learned all about that in Intercultural Communications class!"

Great! So, you must have taken courses in Geography, Economics, and most importantly, Economic Geography?

"Man, you've got to be kidding! All we needed to know was how to be sensitive to exploited peoples. I mean, get real, what else is there?"

Hmmm, that sort of surprises me. You do know, don't you, that forign countries have histories different from that of our own? That, in turn affects the current cultural situation in that country, how they view us, how they view their neighbors. So, I would hope that you have sutdied some history, haven't you, Billy?

"Hey, sure, man. I took an elective. It was something about America Since the Revolution, or something like that. We learned all about how America began has a facist, colonial empire exploiting blacks for slavery. Oh, and then we learned there was this thing called the Depression, where our social consciousness was raised thanks to journalists and Hollywood actors. I mean, that's about all there is to American history, isn't there? Anyway, all the tests were multiple choice. That's what I liked the most."

No, Billy, you have to study the histories of foreign countries, lots of them ... Well, look, you do realize, don't you, that foreign countries have populations of people that differ from us racially and ethnically and that's why ...

"Yeah, man, of course I do, that's why I took that Intercultural Communications class, so I could be sensitive to all that stuff. Didn't I just tell you that?"

... you need to study comparative religions, ethnography, and anthropology, all of which are quite complex subjects that affect relations between countries. And, of course, you did all that, too, didn't you, Billy?

"You gotta be kidding, man. There just wasn't enough room for all those electives. After all, I had a major to fulfill."

That's what I thought, Billy. And I guess you didn't take any science either, because science concerns technological issues that affect trade and economic relations between countries, especially when they are engaged in competitiveness that might lead to war, as in an arms race or space race, or disputes over raw materials ...

"Hell, no, man. Didn't I just tell ya? That's why I majored in communications and journalism to begin with. You ain't listenin' man!"

You're right, Billy, I'm not listening. That's why listening to a journalist give a talk on foreign policy strikes me as bizarre as listening to a journalist give a talk on fluid dynamics. And you've just convinced me why I just shouldn't go there. It's the best way to become an expert on everything by studying absolutely nothing.

"Hey, man, you're just insensitive!"

... and proud of it.