A commentary
By J. F. Kelly, Jr.
Words spoken by my pastor at Mass recently keep resonating with me. In commenting on the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations that have rattled the nation and revealed wide-spread anti-Semitism, Father Michael Murphy of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Coronado reminded parishioners that many of this generation of college students had the misfortune of having to experience remote learning in high school and many were denied participation in traditional graduation ceremonies and related events because of the Covid pandemic. They were thus denied that direct contact with teachers and classmates so essential to developing the ability to form and share opinions and beliefs. They also likely will never enjoy the same standard of living as their parents or own their own home.
To paraphrase his words, we should cut them some slack. He’s right, of course. Most of them probably don’t really hate Jews, which is not to deny the disturbing presence of ugly, widespread anti-Semitism on campuses and elsewhere. While students must be held accountable for their actions, we should realize that they are still in the early stages of their maturity and development and very much influenced by the teachings and political views of their professors who are overwhelmingly liberal and progressive on most campuses. Those faculty members and administrators, some of whom joined with the protests and demonstrations, many of which turned violent, also need to be held accountable, perhaps even more so.
Presidents of some of the elite universities have already paid the price of failing to control the campus disruptions and provide a safe learning environment and more resignations will likely follow. But it will take more than the resignation of a few feckless university presidents who are primarily fund-raisers and devoid of leadership skills to prevent the continuing decline of higher education in America.
By some estimates, about 85 to 90% of faculty members are Democrats whose views are to the left of the political spectrum. If inclusion and diversity are goals, then this represents abject failure. Young, impressionable students will inevitably be exposed to far more liberal and progressive views than to conservative and moderate views. The goal should be exposure to a wide variety of views and philosophies and it should be incumbent upon university presidents, trustees, deans and hiring officials to ensure balance in hiring faculty.
Parents who invest heavily in their children’s higher education only to discover that they have been socialized to hate their country and pledge allegiance to its enemies need to get far more involved. The value of an elite college education is already being questioned, especially for students majoring in some of the “soft” subjects which provide them with little or no prospects for employment but plenty of time to demonstrate and protest, for which they may even gain academic credit. Those who camped out in tents in violation of campus rules or the law might consider hanging on to those tents in order to have something to live in after they graduate with a degree in something like gender studies.
Young people are usually in search of a cause to demonstrate their relevance and growing influence. They tend, however, to overstate the extent of both. Demonstrations that inconvenience or threaten others do nothing to promote their cause and tend to be counterproductive. They attract troublemakers and outside agitators. American universities, especially the Ivies, have already suffered immense damage to their brands. It started well before the current demonstrations with political correctness run amuck, speech codes, rampant grade inflation, awards for just showing up, trigger warnings, safe spaces, shouting down opposing views, barring speakers from campuses, divesting, etc. It won’t end until the universities are hit where it hurts, i.e., denial of government contracts, alumni support, donor funding and action by parents including lawsuits on behalf of students who were denied access to what they paid for.
In Matthew 22:36-40 we read that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself. That would include all your fellow humans regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or other accident of birth, including your enemies. Hate the sin but love the sinner. We are all sinners. We live in a deeply-troubled world and we are an impatient people demanding instant solutions. Life isn’t that simple. With apologies to songwriter Joe South, no one ever promised you a rose garden.
Father Murphy emphasized the importance of patience. He closed his homily by saying that he had re-read the last two verses on the Bible and offers a “spoiler” alert: God wins in the end. So do we if we keep those commandments.
May 24, 2024
Commentaries by J. F. Kelly, Jr. 