The Education of Bill Ayers

During the long and brutal presidential campaign, I was convinced that Barack Obama and his family were blessed to count the supposedly "unrepentant terrorist" Bill Ayers among their friends, if indeed he was their friend. I could only assume that based on analogy. Now, this amazing op-ed by Ayers proves that my assumption was correct.

This is what I mean. I count among my first teachers, while still in high school, members of SDS and one or more of its splinter groups, organizations with which the name of Bill Ayers will always be associated. What did my teachers teach me? Among other things, they taught me how to have deep regrets for many things, but not for that reason to regret everything, or to regret my own passion for the right, or the passion of others for the right. They explained with great authority in what sense their actions seemed reprehensible to them in retrospect, and in what sense they did not.

It now appears that Bill Ayers is also a conflicted man, and not afraid to present himself as such. We should all have such teachers.

Comments

[danielandtonya]

Thanks for posting on this John. I don't read the NY Times, so I wouldn't have caught it. Did you see he and his wife's interview on DemocracyNow? Its very good and pretty long. Thought you might like it.

[John Hobbins]

Daniel,

I have often wondered, based on the Bible of course (Moses, David, and Paul), whether a necessary prereq to being chosen to do something exceptionally good is to have done something exceptionally bad things beforehand or along the way.

Bill Ayers is my kind of person. The world of course is more dangerous because it contains people with a zeal like that of Phineas.

But it also safer somehow. Much safer.