harvard has done something, so we all must care

sort of big story out of harvard is a change in curriculum, from their old "core" system to general education, a move that would emphasize "the real-world applications of a liberal arts education." ignoring the inherent contradiction, i don't really have a problem with the change, especially since there are few details of what the specific changes will be. one change that has been announced, however, pisses me off.

[The original] report made headlines by proposing that every undergraduate be required to take a course in the study of religion and a course on the United States. The group’s final report, released in February, eliminated the requirement of a religion course but retained the requirement of a course on the United States.

how typical that we would require a course in the US, but not in religion, especially at a time when greater understanding of the world is necessary. i'm going to go all hippie extremist here, but what we don't need right now is more patriotic rah-rahing. fox news takes care of that. a required course in religion, especially if it was one that touched on anything besides christianity, would show an attempt to be more worldly.
stepping back into the reality, any requirements like this don't matter on a pragmatic level--it's only one school and whether students would actually learn anything is questionable, at best--but symbolically it shows where our minds are. in our jingoistic asses.