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I don't see your article or audio file.
What killed higher education? My basic view is mirrored in a quote by the actor James Cagney who was stymied by people who couldn't get an education or rise up in the world. He rose from teh bowls of Hell's Kitchen to be ... well ... James Cagney. His simple quote: "A library card is free."
Higher education for some liberal majors or general classes is useless because you can get it for free. I was born in 1964, so I grew up with the library being the main, limited source of information.
Now it's everywhere. In my back pocket phone. On my PC. I can click a link, and there is Victor Davis Hansen telling me about the Peloponnesian War or why Trump matters. A library card is still free.
I left the university with a few grand in debt. (I should have had zero debt, but live and learn.) School now is unaffordable, and no one is guaranteed a solid living once they get a degree. I know too many adults who also got master's degrees that never paid off and felt victimized and entitled as a result. Higher ed has lot it's sparkle.
College should be more like trade school, teaching particular skills to make a particular living in a particular career. Doctor, lawyer, journalist, architect. St. John's is for people who have time to pay big bucks to read the Aristotle. Few of us can afford that. As far as liberal arts and literature, I can learn the symbolism of the rule of "club and fang" in "Call of the Wild" by going online, joining a book club, or getting Cliff's Notes.
I have YouTube, PragerU, Hoover Institution, VDH, National Review, Jordan Peterson, podcasts, Facebook groups, and the library. I don't need to sit in a classroom that forces me to be disciplined for a grade. I don't have to drive there, to be there in person. College forces you to pay for dorm rooms, physical buildings, and education you're not sure you can trust. People can go elsewhere for information, among people who share our values.
College doesn't help with things it needs to help with--and that is the practical application of knowledge, skills, and behaviors to succeed in the workplace. A lot of this should come from parents and mentors, but a lot of young adults have neither. Higher ed should make sure students can go from the abstract world of books to sweating for a living.
College has become the place of soft snowflakes and values many of us fear or don't share. My son, who is 17 and yearning to be a grown man, has no desire to associate with this atmosphere. He's going into the trades, into the world of men and callouses, and earning your pay by sweat and smarts. I come from a family that were FDR Democrats and trade unionists. They all vote Republican now. I'm sure my son will never vote Democratic on principle.
It all is tied together.
Thank you for being a resource. If Donald Trump did anything, it made us unafraid to speak out. And many conservative spokesman, like yourself, give us a place for information. George Will abandoned the cause, and I used to look to him. But always grumping and never-Trumping lost an audience. We shifted to other sources, and that's how I found you.
Morris Olitsky
6 years ago
Dr. Hanson:
Your description of the anti-white male bias in academia also applies to business and government. And as you said about academe, it's not new in business. I saw it at General Electric 20 years ago, and I see it in the Federal government today. Nobody will admit it, and now they say just the opposite, but I know it's true, and I know I'm not prejudiced.
Interesting talk!
Sincerely,
Discussion (2)
Join the conversation. Logged in subscribers avoid the Captcha verification and get priority commenting approvals. No vulgarity, links, or code allowed.
I don't see your article or audio file. What killed higher education? My basic view is mirrored in a quote by the actor James Cagney who was stymied by people who couldn't get an education or rise up in the world. He rose from teh bowls of Hell's Kitchen to be ... well ... James Cagney. His simple quote: "A library card is free." Higher education for some liberal majors or general classes is useless because you can get it for free. I was born in 1964, so I grew up with the library being the main, limited source of information. Now it's everywhere. In my back pocket phone. On my PC. I can click a link, and there is Victor Davis Hansen telling me about the Peloponnesian War or why Trump matters. A library card is still free. I left the university with a few grand in debt. (I should have had zero debt, but live and learn.) School now is unaffordable, and no one is guaranteed a solid living once they get a degree. I know too many adults who also got master's degrees that never paid off and felt victimized and entitled as a result. Higher ed has lot it's sparkle. College should be more like trade school, teaching particular skills to make a particular living in a particular career. Doctor, lawyer, journalist, architect. St. John's is for people who have time to pay big bucks to read the Aristotle. Few of us can afford that. As far as liberal arts and literature, I can learn the symbolism of the rule of "club and fang" in "Call of the Wild" by going online, joining a book club, or getting Cliff's Notes. I have YouTube, PragerU, Hoover Institution, VDH, National Review, Jordan Peterson, podcasts, Facebook groups, and the library. I don't need to sit in a classroom that forces me to be disciplined for a grade. I don't have to drive there, to be there in person. College forces you to pay for dorm rooms, physical buildings, and education you're not sure you can trust. People can go elsewhere for information, among people who share our values. College doesn't help with things it needs to help with--and that is the practical application of knowledge, skills, and behaviors to succeed in the workplace. A lot of this should come from parents and mentors, but a lot of young adults have neither. Higher ed should make sure students can go from the abstract world of books to sweating for a living. College has become the place of soft snowflakes and values many of us fear or don't share. My son, who is 17 and yearning to be a grown man, has no desire to associate with this atmosphere. He's going into the trades, into the world of men and callouses, and earning your pay by sweat and smarts. I come from a family that were FDR Democrats and trade unionists. They all vote Republican now. I'm sure my son will never vote Democratic on principle. It all is tied together. Thank you for being a resource. If Donald Trump did anything, it made us unafraid to speak out. And many conservative spokesman, like yourself, give us a place for information. George Will abandoned the cause, and I used to look to him. But always grumping and never-Trumping lost an audience. We shifted to other sources, and that's how I found you.
Dr. Hanson: Your description of the anti-white male bias in academia also applies to business and government. And as you said about academe, it's not new in business. I saw it at General Electric 20 years ago, and I see it in the Federal government today. Nobody will admit it, and now they say just the opposite, but I know it's true, and I know I'm not prejudiced. Interesting talk! Sincerely,