civic value of
ideological
diversity schools
On August 13, 2020, the great Sarah Vowell wrote an the opinion piece titled: Joe Biden and the Great Leaders of 2020 Are Part of a Club, and sub headed, They’re the graduates of public universities, and they’ve stepped into the void of presidential leadership.
Ms. Vowell wrote:
The inherent civic value of public universities in this quarreling country of strangers is ideological diversity.
For instance, like my Republican senator Steve Daines, I graduated from Montana State University, and I think it speaks well of the healthy variety of political views that are represented on that campus that I very much hope he will have a lot more time to ski next year.
Public universities are one of two major American institutions, the other being the U.S. military, where large quantities of random adults are thrown together and made to coexist for years on end:
the budget-minded,
the lightly parented,
the formerly incarcerated,
the downsized,
the underestimated,
veterans,
refugees,
late bloomers,
single moms,
divorced dads,
Bible thumpers,
empty nesters,
your swankier hicks,
Mormons who didn’t get into Brigham Young University
and a hodgepodge of souls who are working toward what is incidentally at the heart of every election:
a fair chance at a decent life.
University.
Uni.
Union.
A more perfect Union.
E Pluribus Unum.
One out of many.
One out of many hoping for a fair chance at a decent life.
The inherent civic value of public universities in this quarreling country of strangers is ideological diversity.
I couldn’t agree more.
No Haiku For You 