Riley raised the question of where things started to go wrong.
"What a revoltin' development this is!", he pithily summarized.
The easy answer is 1970. Richard Nixon had power, and unleashed the incoherent rage of everyone who was feeling threatened by the end of white male domination and the old double standard. You can draw a pretty clear path from that moment to 2010, when it became clear to everyone that the released forces of resentment were in complete control of the Republican party, and that they put their movement ahead of any notions of Truth, Justice & The (Old) American Way.
Easy, but is it relevant to the capture by Management of higher education? I think so. The key is cynicism. By the 1970s, the ranks of administrators were already growing. To resist them required a dedication to the best interest of the institution. In a world where any mention of that will be assumed to be self-interest, how can it be raised?
I think the key here is withering scorn. Make the accusers who cite your self interest declare their greed openly.
After that it should be easy.
3/8: No new post today. Flu sux.
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