There are a number of reasons why those of us who educate for vocation at independent colleges and universities are acutely concerned about the start of the new administration. First and foremost, attacks on DEI are rattling those committed to making college education and purposeful work available to all. While private institutions arguably have more protection than public ones, they’re not immune from federal attacks or statewide measures that follow. The slipshod firing of federal workers also sends shivers among public servants, many of whom chose governmental work out of a sense of calling; that is, because they “want to serve the public” and are “motivated by their desire to make the world a better place.”
Equally troubling is the fact that so many government officials have ordained their own work in terms of a higher calling, or a mission sent by God, even as they disrupt the more modest callings of others. At both the state and federal levels, politicians have repeatedly interpreted their electoral victories (many of which have been quite narrow) as a clear mandate to slash jobs, overhaul governmental bureaucracy, and attack higher education. We should be skeptical about declarations that elected (or unelected) officials have been “saved by God” or are doing “God’s work.” Even without explicit self-ordinations, we should be critical—and resistant—anytime a leader or party enacts “creative destruction” with all the certainty, zeal, and sanction of the God-Chosen.
Continue reading ““A Mission from God” versus Kierkegaard’s “Infinite Why””