Protectionism - Brought to a New Level

While the US and Europe are still widely criticized for stalling Doha talks with their insistent farm subsidies, and while the US Senate is still trying to pass the 27.5% tariff on Chinese imports, nothing tops the ridicule of this protectionist move.

An American school banned the wonderful International Baccalaureate (IB for short) because:

officials condemned it as "un-American" and Marxist, sparking outrage among pupils who are studying the increasingly popular diploma.

They also rejected it on grounds that it is anti-Christian (note: World Religions) and that it is "too foreign". Check this out:

Trombetta, the board member who has received death threats from angry parents, had further complained that the IB tests "were developed in a foreign country".

I understand the concern for maintaining AP's integrity, but as a country that prides itself on its Capitalist society and progress from competition, simply rejecting a foreign yet widely successful curriculum will not automatically guarantee the success of America's children. If anything, in this increasingly global and flat world, America's next generation will simply continue to possess their narrow world view that has not been beneficial at all.

Perhaps this kind of protectionism (preventing CNOOC from acquiring Unocal) is justifiable through strategic interest (though personally I think the Senate was just soiling their pants at China's surging power), but surely America's public, or those in power, should realize USA's comparative advantaage lies not in its farmers, its factories and mass production, or its standardized tests, but rather in its abundance of bright minds and resources, which it should channel towards the development of science and technology.

Without innovation, the US of A would falter in the 21st century.