There’s a word that needs to be coined – it should probably be an ism – to capture the following pattern. If you tune into CNN or MSNBC, you’ll note that they often give voice to Republicans who complain they remained what they’ve always been, but the party has moved to the far right. And if you tune into Fox you’ll note it often gives voice to Democrats who complain they remained the liberals they always were, but the party has moved to the extreme illiberal left.
I won’t say ’tis always thus, but this is not uncommon. For example, a century ago it was the Republican Party on the left and the Democrats on the right. The crossover didn’t happen overnight. And no one is sure exactly when it happened. So it’s not surprising that no Reagan Republican can identify the exact moment the party turned MAGA. And no pre-AOC Democrat can identity the exact moment her party went woke. But whether one celebrates or laments it, everyone knows that it’s happened.
Or, in the case of universities, that it’s happening.
When I entered the institution three decades ago it was one thing. It’s now something else. Our values are no longer in sync. Is this some great injustice? It is not. Institutions evolve. They pretty much have to. I had an ex father-in-law who quit the church he’d served for half a century over the ordination of women. It did the right thing. But so did he. So if I retire – which I’m now sure I’m going to have to – it won’t be in high dudgeon.
I’m at the end of my career anyhow. But my heart goes out to those in early or mid-career who entered with one set of understandings that are no longer in place. They have the more difficult choice to make. Integrity is one value. Feeding your family is another. Where the latter trumps the former, I’d be the last to pass judgment.

Categories: Everything You Wanted to Know About What's Going On in the World But Were Afraid to Ask, Why My Colleagues Are Idiots

Tags: CNN, Democrats, Fox, MSNBC, Republicans, wokeism