Posted by
stevo on Saturday, August 26, 2006 11:11:18 PM
Which teacher has the more heinous record, the venom-filled ideologue or the mild-mannered propagandist? I would argue that it would certainly be the latter, but these do not seem to be the academic elitists most targeted by fair-minded conservatives. We seem much more intent on removing the spiteful ignoramous from the University of Colorado who made dispicable comments pertaining to 9/11 than we do the gentle postmodernists who denigrate any sense of truth or the dogmatic materialists who present subjective theories as fact.
But of the aforementioned options, who does the greatest damage to truth and constitutes the most manipulative threat to our students? Surely, our nation's collegiates are able to recognize fire-breathers and shield themselves from the heat. If you challenge a student's wit with consummate professionalism or a supreme sense of piety, however, you gain the ability to disarm and manipulate. Even the great 20th century theologian J. Gresham Machen was cast into doubt and confusion early in his career by the piety of German arch-heretic Wilhelm Hermann.
All this to say that the most devilish in academia today are not dressed in red pajamas and wielding pinchforks--they are wearing polo shirts and khakis and wielding all-star smiles. A gentle reminder to my fellow young adults: Beware the postmodern "love" and piety that would rob even the most discriminating heart of simple reason.