I have long admired military historian Victor Davis Hanson, and consider him a human treasure, one of the world’s foremost “public intellectuals,” his wisdom, gleaned from full and detailed consideration of subjects in the public eye unparalleled. Thus so here, his assessment of the current state of “higher education,” which I post on the day before graduation ceremonies in the college town in which I live, Bloomington, IN.
At the supermarket this afternoon, seeing all the students, many with parents, likely about to head off to parties, or dinner out, or backyard grilling, in the back of my mind, the usual little worm digs its way in. Is college worth it? Maybe it used to be worth it? But now? Victor Davis Hanson spells it all out.
(One caveat, however: Soon after the October 7 false flag, I was shocked to realize that Hanson had actually — reflexively? — taken sides in the Israel/Palestine imbroglio! Of all people, how could Hanson not see the current, intensely complex situation in deeply historical terms? How could he just instantly side with one of the players, Israel, in this latest iteration of humanity’s deadliest zero sum game? I haven’t kept up with his thinking on that drama since then, however.)
Can the Current Universities Be Saved?
