The following report is by Campus Reform:
Rob Jenkins is a Higher Education Fellow with Campus Reform and a tenured associate professor of English at Georgia State University – Perimeter College. In a career spanning more than three decades at five different institutions, he has served as a head men’s basketball coach, an athletic director, a department chair, and an academic dean, as well as a faculty member. Jenkins’ opinions are his own and do not represent those of his employer.
For many years, the United States has been effectively a technocracy, run by unelected “experts.” Former Harvard president Claudine Gay’s fall from grace may mark the end of that era.
Technocrats have long told us what we can and can’t do, what we’re allowed to own, what our kids must learn in school, and so on. For the most part, we never voted for any of that, yet we have gone along docilely, not noticing or not caring or, at best, unwilling to make waves.
The result has been the rise of self-selected “experts,” the credentialed class, who exist primarily to impose their will on others. Their ranks have swelled recently with the exponential growth of government and education bureaucracies and the emergence of “academic” programs designed not to increase knowledge but to feed those bureaucracies.
This is what I refer to as “credentialism”: the pursuit of dubious credentials, like degrees in pseudo-sciences and quasi-academic subjects, solely for the purpose of advancing one’s own career and personal policy preferences. The term might also apply to those with legitimate credentials who in their hubris believe being an “expert” gives them the right to tell everyone else how to live.
Much to the dismay of the credentialed class, Americans’ tolerance of this system began to wane about four years ago, when it became apparent to many that a) the experts don’t always know what they’re doing, and b) they don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart.
Anyone who was paying attention could see, as early as April 2020, that much of what the “experts” were telling us—about masks, “social distancing,” school closures—had no basis in science. Anonymous social media accounts routinely exposed the technocrats’ contradictions, statistical errors, and bold-faced lies.
That trend continued into 2021, when the much-ballyhooed “vaccines” failed to prevent people from contracting or transmitting the virus—just as the “conspiracy theorists” had predicted. Attempts to suppress this information were to some extent stymied by lawsuits, FOIA requests, an aggressive alternative media (including Campus Reform), and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter/X.
The truth, bit by bit, came out. The “experts” were discredited. And credentialism began to implode as people realized that merely having a degree or title is no guarantee of anything.
The collapse was hastened by the medical and scientific establishment’s embrace of “transgenderism.” As the “transgender activists” constantly reminded us, virtually every major medical association in the country has endorsed the idea that people can change their sex.
But since literally everyone knows that’s not true–people can’t actually change their sex—the self-righteous harangues of the credentialed class fail to persuade. Instead, they just further discredit themselves and their entire profession.
Which brings us to the latest and perhaps pivotal episode in the slow-motion train-wreck that is the fall of credentialism: Claudine Gay’s resignation.
Gay was the quintessential “diversity hire,” a mediocre scholar by Ivy League standards who rose to power based on her race and gender, along with (apparently) a fair amount of ruthlessness.
She is also a classic example of credentialism—what academics sometimes refer to as “careerism”—parlaying her advanced degrees into a series of leadership roles as she climbed the administrative ladder. The derivative nature of her “scholarship,” combined with her meteoric rise, suggests that she was always focused more on her own ambition than on the pursuit of truth.
Unfortunately for Harvard, for the Ivy League, and for the entire credentialed class, her appointment as president proved to be a disaster. When the leader of the most prestigious institution in the country, the one at the very top of the credentialism heap, turns out to be a proven plagiarist and a potential fraud—well, that doesn’t exactly inspire the rest of us to put much faith in degrees and titles.
Indeed, today people tend to trust higher education less than ever. They put less stock in credentials. And that is generally a good thing—unless you genuinely need a credential to work in your field. What should you do, in that case? I plan to talk about that in my next column, so stay tuned.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
[18] Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. [20] And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 1 Corinthians 3:18-20
It’s a rather interesting phenomena and paradox that we see occurring now, now that Western society and nations are collapsing at freefall speeds and everything is breaking down, the truth of God’s word declared thousands of years ago still rings very true and shines even brighter than before (though most refuse to hear it); and that is, in this context, the allure of higher academia, scholastics, and these arbitrary authorities and appeals to authority are now eroding and seen as moot.
[19] For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. [20] Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? [21] For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. [22] For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: [23] But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; [24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. [25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:19-25
I will say though, that in this vacuum that has been created because of the internet and people awakening to the college scam, and liars, puppets, charlatans in the establishment and the ‘bigs’ – there has now become this glorification of willful ignorance and embracing of stupidity and anti-intellectualism, especially now that everything has become very tribal and cultic. Now more scams and fraudsters have arisen on the pretense they are anti-establishment and self-proclaimed experts, with all this hidden knowledge, expertise, and experience that “education” and the establishment won’t tell you. Because of that, the scammery and deception, and genuine mis- and disinformation is everywhere.
This is what happens when a society kicks out God’s word and turns to themselves for wisdom and knowledge, making philosophy their guiding principle where truth is no longer absolute, but everything is relative, and good and evil are only so based on the eye of the beholder and the context of the act.
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25 – this is where we are now, and with no KING James Bible as the guiding principle, it’s no surprise that society has broken down – everyone is confused and lied to.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
The WinePress needs your support! If God has laid it on your heart to want to contribute, please prayerfully consider donating to this ministry. If you cannot gift a monetary donation, then please donate your fervent prayers to keep this ministry going! Thank you and may God bless you.
Having the unfortunate experience of going through four years of college myself I can attest that even in the hard sciences there is very little of value to be obtained. What useful information you may learn is peppered through a variety of “research papers” and testing that really just make the practical knowledge more confusing and often you would be better off just self-educating online. I have since learned more useful information from alternative medicine online than I ever did going through official education. This whole system of credentialism also has the unfortunate effect of driving people into areas of study and work that they really should not be pursuing but have been convinced that they should due to societal pressures. A few of my professors were genuinely engaging and taught good real life knowledge but it was almost always from personal experience outside of the curriculum and many professors were the same as the students, just there for or because of a piece of paper that would grant them some kind of societal benefit without any real desire or understanding for the knowledge being presented.
Find something useful that interests you and learn from someone who does it for fun and you will likely become more of an expert in that field before you could even finish a degree in that field with minimal practical experience.
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 KJV
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Sounds like me, only real difference was I did not go to college and broke loose of the system when I was going to high school, and got saved before my sophomore year. I officially threw in the towel second semester junior year when I officially stopped caring. It’s a shame because MOST of my friends and classmates KNEW and admitted that this was all a waste, but still conceded to go along with it. Now they have a worthless degree, deep debt, and not even a worthy career they can make a living at.
Working has taught me more than your typical GE class. I used to be nervous, shy, and awkward, but through the jobs God has given me, it matured me quite a bit. I used to be super embarrassed because during the corona lock downs, I was the only one out of my peers to have spent 2 years in my house, learning from the bible, while every one of my relatives and classmates went to colleges- I’ve lied on many occasions because I felt embarrassed for being job-less and school-less, and for bringing shame to my family. I would’ve went, if it weren’t for the vax’s and masking. However, I guess everything works out for those who are saved. After the corona fiasco subsided, God quickly elevated me amongst my peers, and he has give me much wisdom- In a span of less than a year, I was promoted twice, and before I left my Job, I was a mechanic- there was many more too, but it’s all thanks to God.
Currently, God is allowing me to go to a community college. My purpose is to learn many skills, as to open opportunities to witness, and I’m figuratively building Noah’s Arc before the brown stuff hits the fan, which is soon. Literally, people think CC, the trades, and language classes are stupid, because they aren’t prestigious, but they’re the most useful things that one can learn, and they won’t break the bank. It boggles me that many would take gender studies over something as useful as learning how to fix your car.
Anyways, I’d like to go and rant some more, but some of my plans will be kept between me and the Lord.
you just summed up decades if not just centuries in one sentence and this is Israel’s sad truth today. It’s polluted with all sorts of made up pagan ideologies and not one person makes sense today.
Gotta discredit & collapse it to put in the ultimate blue checkmark, antichrist Roman controlled system.