Many Thanks, Dr. George

I went into college with one thought in mind as far as political science was concerned:  It was the best cure for insomnia invented.  And then I signed up for American National Government in the Fall of 1983.  Of all the upcoming classes, I dreaded it the most.  (My Beginning Badminton class I eagerly anticipated.)

In scanning through the book, I noticed the people who'd had it before had written all throughout the book, a cardinal sin to a book lover such as myself.  The majority of my notes were already taken.  The first day, in walked Dr. John H. George.  The man to this day disgusts me.  His goatee was always well-groomed.  His jokes cracked everyone up.  And he was interesting every single class period.  If he wasn't such a likable fellow, I'd've hated him.  He didn't like to be called Dr. George, as he said he couldn't cure anything and said for us to call him John.  (I never could.)  But if we were uncomfortable with that, he always liked the term World Dictator.



Dr. John George (far right) at a seminar
dealing with extreme terrorism

We knew right away this was not our usual professor, as whenever the chalk was gone, he'd go on his usual tirade, blaming the Communists.  You see, they were the ones who took the chalk so he couldn't write on the board.  That way we wouldn't learn anything, so we wouldn't know how to vote.  Of course, a bunch of uneducated people are going to elect morons to Congress, and therefore, the Communists are going to take over the country from a batch of morons.  And that was why the chalk was gone!  Of course, he had it lengthier, and by the time he was done, we were always in stitches.  I'll never forget the one time, he came in, not saying a word.  Dr. George opened his briefcase, took out a box of chalk, and turned to the board.  (We were already dying of laughter.)  Dumping the contents all along the chalkboard, he put the box in his briefcase, slammed it shut, and said, "Let's see the d--- Communists do something about that!"  We completely lost it, but the man knew how to get our attention.  And the next class period, all the chalk was gone.

He loved track and field, especially Mary Decker.  Once he went so far as to show us how she'd run a race, sprinting across the room.  Some smart-aleck shouted out, "Slow motion!"  Darned if he didn't s-l-o-w-l-y go backwards and repeat his steps in slow motion. 

He affected my life by asking to speak to me in the cafeteria.  I have to admit, I was wondering what I'd done wrong.  I went up to his table when I was done, and he asked what my major was.  After hearing my reply of history, he asked if I'd considered a minor of political science, saying that I was one of the most informed people in the class.  (Having the book with everyone's notes in it helped.)  He then offered to assist  me choose my classes if I was interested.  Needless to say, I was flattered.  While that was my minor from that moment on, I didn't take him up on that offer.  Instead, I merely signed up for his classes whenever I could.

A good many professors had and have the reputation of lowering a student's grade if that person disagrees with them.  Not so Dr. George.  One particular class, he was making his point, and there was total silence afterwards.  This disappointed the man, as he always encouraged and welcomed discussion.  He pointed out to us a) anything we said wasn't going to affect our grades, b) we should always practice freedom our speech, as that's what the military has been fighting and dying to protect since the American Revolution, but c) never argue for the sake of arguing, as then he'd tear us apart.  If a person wanted to disagree, then they needed to have a good argument.

When someone asked him in class if he was an atheist, Dr. George was surprised.  He'd attempted to hide his agnosticism from us as he didn't want to influence anyone's religious viewpoint.  It was the same with one's political viewpoint.  He was a member of the Libertarian Party, but only because he didn't care for the Republicans or the Democrats.  Yet he had to be a member of a party in order to vote in the primaries, which he considered his duty.  During a seminar, the head of Oklahoma's Libertarian Party spoke.  The man said that 1) they were going to completely going to abolish income tax - but have a 10% flat tax, and 2) the police were merely paid assassins.  I don't know how he finished, as everyone was laughing at him.  The next morning, as Dr. George came in, before anyone said anything, he said, "You know I'm only a member of that party so I can vote in the primaries!  Where did they get that fruitcake?"  We talked about that guy for twenty minutes, shooting his lecture to the next class period.

Before terrorism was a major issue in this world, he was teaching classes on it.  His classes weren't the normal political science classes of the era.  And he always kept one's interest.  His updated version of the Declaration of Indepence was considered a classic piece of literature among his students.

Dr. George passed away two years ago.  Before then, I was able to get in touch with him, letting him know how much I'd enjoyed my time in his classes, and thanking him for instilling a lifelong interest in politics.  He replied, thanking me for contacting him.  I wish I had kept in touch with him on a more regular basis.

Thanks again, Dr. George, and I hope you have enough chalk.