Now that I'm a college man again, I had forgotten some of the more unpleasant aspects of the college experience. One such aspect is the constant bombardment with liberal viewpoint stories, materials, what have you. For example, I logged in today for the first time to DU's student portal. Basically, it's a central point to manage your courses, bursar account, registration, personal info, etc., but it also provides a handy-dandy focus point to get news about DU and what's going on there. It is laid out very much like personalized Google or My Yahoo!. So I logged in and was promptly greeted by the following headlines in the "DU News" section:
Artistic, entrepreneurial fifth-grader gives peace a chance
DU encourages alternative transportation
DU students commemorate 50 years of 'On the Road'
Students bring up difficult topics in 'The Vagina Monologues'
U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs to address peace in Africa
And over in the "Campus Announcements" section:
"Liberal Campuses and Free Societies" A lecture by Michael Bérubé, March 1
Now, don't get me wrong...all of these are fine things, and perfectly normal for any regular college campus (I mean a REAL college...University of Phoenix or Westwood College of Technology, which I would consider merely overblown tech schools, need not apply. No disrespect intended, but we must face facts.). However, "peace," a common topic of discussion among liberals these days, is listed in two out of five articles. "Peace" is joined by alternative transportation, a favorite of environmentalists everywhere; a "celebration" of Kerouac's On The Road, the sine qua non of beatnik identity and indeed the defining work of the Beat Generation; and "The Vagina Monologues," a not-exactly-noncontroversial work of modern drama (and if you read the article, directed by a female sophomore, i.e., an 18-20-year-old girl will be directing these performances). Then the prominent mention of the liberal Michael Bérubé discussing how "liberal campuses" are necessary to the maintenance of "free societies".
At this point, a long, heavy sigh involuntarily escaped my mouth and I could feel the disappointment creep into my eyes and facial expression.
Not having attended any school of higher learning since 1996, I had long forgotten how sheltered and naive are our college students, young, impressionable minds already befuddled by their first taste of true freedom while (mostly) not having any as-yet-serious responsibilities outside of class work and grades. I had likewise forgotten how pompous and yet equally sheltered naive are the adult faculty who teach them. The students, alas, will learn how the Real World, which they are working so hard to join, REALLY works, and most of them the hard way. They will experience tragedy. They will see death. They will understand pain and loss. They will finally see that 99.99999% of them will not be able to change the world in a grand, meaningful way. This is not a bad thing, or a sad thing, but you were all once 18-20 years old, full of wild-eyed dreams and crazy hopes of Making The World A Better Place. I was, too. It IS possible, just usually not on the scale we dream at that age; sadly, discovering the truths of life is a painful and difficult process, one that usually cracks the ridiculous notions and crazy liberality we carry in our college years. As Churchill said, "Anyone who isn't liberal by age 20 has no heart. Anyone who isn't conservative by age 40 has no brain."
The pompous adults, unfortunately, probably never will, a distinct advantage of an academic job. (You also get to walk around and believe you're smarter than everyone else.) I often wonder how most of these academics don't understand the disservice they do themselves by allowing themselves to be surrounded by others of their own kind, never challenged, thus allowing their reasoning to become stagnant, complacent. That's the opposite of what academic life and academic rigor is supposed to be about, isn't it?
Only three years....only three years...only three years...
Thanks for reading along.
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