Friday, February 24, 2012

Is Rick Santorum Actually Insane?

I've tried to like Rick Santorum, I really have.  I actually agree with him on many of the moral issues he espouses, though that doesn't mean I believe they should be the focus of public policy, especially since I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state.  But now I am beginning to think he has actually gone crazy.  And not in a good way.  In a previous post I mentioned his incoherent and inaccurate rant about euthanasia in the Netherlands.  Now, it seems, Santorum sees demonic forces at work in encouraging kids to get a college education.  He says,

“I understand why Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college, because of their indoctrination mills, absolutely … The indoctrination that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country.”  He claimed that “62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave without it,” but declined to cite a source for the figure. And he floated the idea of requiring that universities that receive public funds have “intellectual diversity” on campus.
Terrific.  Affirmative action for conservatives!   Oh wait, there already exists a great deal of 'intellectual diversity' on college campuses.  I think he means that science departments should hire faculty who bury their heads in the sand and deny global warming instead of following the evidence.  Religion departments should hire only those who believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God.  Political Science departments should hire nothing but fiscal and social conservatives.  And so on.  

Granted, many universities are populated largely by liberals, though I think, and research tends to support the idea, that much of that is a result of self-selection rather than academic bias.  Basically, conservatives choose more lucrative careers.  Most university faculty don't make a lot of money, particularly in the first six years.  Of course, there is wide variation from state to state and between disciplines.  A full professor in liberal arts might top out at $80k after a dozen years or so while business or science faculty could do significantly better.  But I digress.

As a faculty member at an R1 research institution for the past 3+ years I have yet to see any evidence of the so-called 'indoctrination' or war on student faith that Senator Santorum seems to think exists.  Apart from the fact that Santorum provides no documentation for his claim I would argue that if kids are losing their faith in college that isn't the college's fault, it is the parents and the church's fault.  I've run into many students of faith and I have seen their faith become stronger, not weaker, during their years in college.  I myself went to college as an agnostic and left as a Christian.  That's not to say that education won't challenge what one believes.  If it doesn't, it isn't worth pursuing.  What good is an education system that simply confirms what someone already believes is true?  That isn't education, it's a confirmation.  You can go to church for that.  And you should.

But if you want a brighter future then you should go to college, get a solid education, and enter society as a productive, taxpaying, well-educated citizen.  It has been proven time and time again that there is NO substitute for a good education to help people move out of the ranks of the impoverished and into the ranks of the productive.  It also shows that students who come in with conservative values leave with conservative values and vice-versa.  Apparently the 'indoctrination mills' are doing a terrible job indoctrinating kids.  Perhaps conservatives think universities function as 'indoctrination mills' because many conservatives believe the goal of pedagogy IS to indoctrinate kids into a conservative worldview, not simply provide them with the tools to be able to think for themselves.  If so, they should just tune into the Rush Limbaugh show and stay out of the classroom.

4 comments:

  1. Really well put. Santorum really scares me. I would enjoy reading more.

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  2. "O judgment, thou hast fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost all reason!". This seems to describe many in this movement today.

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  3. The guy is crazy.I have two daughters in college and their faith as Christians have grown,and at the same time have learned to appreciate and respect other religons as well.

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  4. I live in the UK - Carmarthenshire South Wales - I just cannot believe that Santorum is a serious candidate. He is clearly a religious nut job. Anyone know what is his opinion on the Spanish Inquisition? He probably thinks that it was a good idea,

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