EDITORS' CORNER
OPINION: Selective outrage at alleged threats to democracy won’t dissuade people from thinking professors are just ‘cloistered elitists’
A week ago, faculty at Massachusetts’ Amherst College voted overwhelmingly in favor of what the Daily New Hampshire Gazette calls a “groundbreaking” and “first of its kind” resolution.
The full resolution, provided to The Fix by the Gazette’s Scott Merzbach, reads:
“Resolved that, in light of escalating threats to democracy and the rights of citizens and non-citizens in the United States, the faculty of Amherst College affirms its belief that those threats endanger our educational mission. We join with others who are also speaking out, defending freedom, democracy, and the rights of all, regardless of their political allegiances, religious, gender, and racial identities, or immigration status.”
Faculty voted 102-26 in favor on October 24.
The professor who “spearheaded” the effort, Austin Sarat, said this resolution is different “because it’s not just about protecting academic inquiry, but democratic values.”
Sarat (pictured) noted it “goes farther than the president of Amherst has gone in making statements,” and said he hopes “other faculties will see it or imitate it.”
Back in March, Sarat wrote a piece in which he said “It is time for those who teach to stand up for the rule of law, democratic institutions and the freedoms and well-being of all who reside in this country.
“By doing so we can set an example for others and remind everyone that we are not the cloistered elitists our critics make us out to be.”
Right. Except many independents and conservatives won’t be dissuaded from believing Sarat (and his peers) are “cloistered elitists” when their concerns about democracy only manifest when one side (allegedly) threatens it.
For example, I notice Sarat hasn’t yet penned an article about how the last presidential administration politically targeted hundreds of Republicans beginning in early 2022. If the revelations regarding the so-called “Arctic Frost” operation hold up, it’ll make Watergate look like a kid stealing a single candy corn from his younger brother.
(Oh, and there’s been nary a mention about the operation in the mainstream media, our alleged “gatekeepers” of democracy. Who’d’ve thought?)
And where is Sarat’s condemnation of the Biden administration’s abrogation of abortion protesters’ First Amendment rights via the FACE Act?
And why would someone so worried about democracy cite the former head of the last administration’s Orwellian-monikered Disinformation Governance Board … in an article about censorship and academic freedom?
Since the Amherst faculty resolution doesn’t care about immigration laws and a person’s residency status, keep in mind Martha’s Vineyard is but four hours away from the Amherst campus (perhaps some faculty vacation or own a home there). Three years ago, we saw how the “cloistered” residents of M.V. reacted when some 50 migrants showed up unexpectedly (courtesy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis).
So yes — democracy for all, regardless of one’s residency status (as long as it’s done somewhere else)!!
MORE: Students, faculty continue call for ‘sanctuary campuses’ despite resistance from leadership
