Mike Pence Made a Girl Cry. . . at Hillsdale College

Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Class of 2018 at Hillsdale College's 166th Commencement at the invitation of the class officers. And the valedictorian "literally" cried, she found it so upsetting. I'm not going to name her, because this post isn't intended to embarrass or humiliate her. Rather, the point is that even exceptional institutions like Hillsdale College suffer the dis-integration that's destroying our society.

How do I know about this? It was reported in the New York Times -- speaking of dis-integration. I don't know if it's original to @DrewInWisconsin, but he often repeats "You think you hate the news media. You don’t hate them enough." That's certainly the case with the New York Times and the article (behind the paywall) How a Conservative Christian College Got Mixed Up in the 2020 Election Plot: Hillsdale College has become quietly involved in many political fights — including Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat.

I only know about it because Mr. C and I had a row over it after he read the article and said he wished Hillsdale wouldn't invite political figures to give their commencement addresses. He could read and share it because he has a subscription, Cod bless him.

Our argument went something like this:

Me: What if the political figure was Abraham Lincoln?

Him: What if it was Joe Biden?

Me: I'd skip my own graduation ceremony if Joe Biden gave the commencement address.

Him: It seems an unnecessary provocation to students and parents who disapprove. Bishop Barron gave a great commencement address at Hillsdale.

Me: I agree, but the worst I ever heard was Tim Allen -- hardly a political figure. And Mike Pence seems a fairly benign personage, so it must have been his association with Donald Trump that set the girl off.

Fact check: True.

I just finished watching Pence's speech -- rather boilerplate stuff with a brief foray into the administration's accomplishments and -- heaven forfend! -- greetings and congratulations from President Trump to the class and the use of the phrase "make America great."

Watch for yourselves (Arnn's defense of his institution and touching introduction starts about minute 25):

What do I mean by "dis-integration?" I'm borrowing from a podcast I listened to on Catholic Answers talking about Christian atheism. And this is the part of Pence's speech I found unconvincing -- that "faith is on the rise in America." I disagree. There is likely still a significant number of Americans who practice a cultural Christianity, but I contend the lack of faith in a transcendent Being -- especially One to whom we will be held to account -- is on the rise. Virtual atheism wearing a Christian skin. The example given on the Catholic Answers podcast was the red state of Ohio voting for unrestricted abortion.

So "dis-integration" is the loss of societal and institutional integrity. We're experiencing a breakdown of the integral whole. For heaven's sake, we can't even agree on what a woman is anymore!

This is what dis-integration looks like:

Yet even as she thrived academically, she found her values unmoored from the emergent brand of conservatism espoused by Arnn and his administration. In an interview, she recalled her graduation, in May 2018. She was the valedictorian. Pence delivered the commencement address, declaring that the Trump administration was “advancing the very principles that you learned here in the halls at Hillsdale.” “I was sitting there in the audience in tears, in embarrassment and frustration,” [redacted] told me. “This is supposed to be the culmination of the education that I received, and instead the school is making a mockery of itself.” She added: “I was literally crying. I’m going to sound like a snowflake, I guess, but whatever. It was a travesty. Another student heard me crying and reached out to me afterward and said, ‘This isn’t the send-off we deserved.’”

You "deserved?" The Vice President of the United States -- a man of integrity by most standards -- spoke at your commencement and you "deserved" better? Maybe you should be grateful it wasn't Tim Allen. Seriously.

And I would expect a Hillsdale graduate, if anyone, to "embrace the adventure" Jordan Peterson so often talks about and to take on "maximal responsibility." Both ideas alluded to in President Arnn's and Vice President Pence's speeches. And what exactly are the values a Hillsdale valedictorian no longer shares with the "emergent brand of conservatism espoused by Arnn and his administration?" The article doesn't say.

There's more revealed by what goes unsaid in the article than the foreboding implications laid out to damage Hillsdale College and Larry Arnn (I believe it was the NYT that labeled Arnn "the most dangerous man in America" several years ago). For example, early in the article it says, "Arnn would counsel Pence, as the vice president faced mounting pressure to block certification of the vote in the House of Representatives." Counsel him how? To block the certification? To certify? You have to read nearly to the end of the article to learn that Larry Arnn counseled "caution." Well.

You think you hate the New York Times? You don't hate it enough. The media and the education establishment (of which Hillsdale is NOT a part) are the greatest threats to America. Nothing is more destructive to the character and integrity of our people and, therefore, our nation.