WHAT’S WRONG WITH ACADEMIA
WHAT’S WRONG WITH ACADEMIA, AND
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT?
By
Ken Eliasberg
What happened to academe? Granted, that it has always had a liberal bent—and very possibly, this is at it should be; idealism is not a bad gift to our youth (as long as it falls short of complete propaganda, and as long as they are required to come to their senses at some point in the growth cycle, a fate which, it would seem, academics manage to escape for a lifetime)—but when did liberal become radical in so far as our universities were concerned. Referring once again to Michael Lewis’s review of Bill Bennett’s recent effort to set the record of American history straight (in the December issue of Commentary magazine), Lewis observes:
“Until recently it was a commonplace—and an unobjectionable one “
that the study of American history was a form of civic instruction.
Since Thucydides, historians have searched in the tumult of the
past for a meaningful pattern, taking warning from acts of folly
and inspiration from acts of virtue. But a generation ago, American
historians began to understand their vocation in radically different
terms.
For complex reasons, and virtually overnight, it became
unacceptable to employ history in order to inculcate civic
virtue, to impart moral lessons, or to foster patriotism.
* * * * * *
In some cases, though, the purpose of learning these lessons was
not to strengthen and improve the nation; instead, genuine
improvement would come only when the nation itself was
discredited, and alternative structures were created in its place.”
What happened? Very simple—as I have pointed out before, the guys who wanted to burn the schools down in the