The Conservative Allure of the Pseudo-Intellectual

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:48 pm by Tony Jones

The Conservative Allure of the Pseudo-Intellectual 2015-03-13T16:48:40-05:00 Tony Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dinesh D’Souza: From saint to pariah

Until now, I haven’t blogged about the Dinesh D’Souza kerfluffle at King’s College because it seemed a little internecine, even for this blog. But I’ve been following it closely because I’ve known of D’Souza since 1986.

That Fall I arrived at Dartmouth College, and I was randomly assigned to a dorm room in South Massachusetts Hall. South Mass was the last all-male dorm on campus — that lasted only another year — and, as such, it was a haven for the ultra-conservative males at Dartmouth. These were the upperclassmen who’d torn down the shanties on the campus green — shanties built in protest of Apartheid — the previous Spring. They refused to acknowledge that the “Dartmouth Indian” mascot had been retired years earlier — they plied freshmen with free Indian tee-shirts and led Indian war chants at athletic events. And they wrote for the Dartmouth Review, where D’Souza got his start.

D’Souza graduated in the Spring of 1983, but when I arrived in the Fall of 1986, his shadow loomed large, and in South Mass, his name was spoken with reverence.

So I’ve been interested in watching his rise and, over the last month, his fall. No one has covered this story better than David Sessions (who is one of my favorite writers). You can find David’s reporting on the matter at The Daily Beast/Newsweek. But you can read his opinions on the matter at Patrol Magazine (along with another of my favorite writers, Jonathan Fitzgerald).

At Patrol, David goes beyond recounting what happened to King’s College and how they were duped into hiring D’Souza. He offers some advice to conservative institutions who are enamored more of FOX News appearances than they are of curriculum vitae. And I think he’s spot on:

This is free advice, conservatives: conservative schools, magazines, think-tanks, whatever, are never going to compete until you stop hiring these people. Until you make somebody do the work, your institutions will never have anything worthwhile to offer, and will always be relegated to some kind of parallel universe where no one takes them seriously. The absolute worst thing you can do for your twenty-somethings is give them promotions that outstrip their work, just because they are superficially useful to your ultimate political/financial goals. The lesson is that rewards come automatically, and that money and fame accompany…just being relatively smart and able to spout some Republican talking points. In the real world, that mostly doesn’t happen, and setting up a fake universe where 22-year-olds get cable news contracts and political book deals is not preparing anybody to exist anywhere except in conservative fantasyland. This is mostly the fault of right-wing rich people who aren’t really interested in ideas, they just want to subsidize a return to the past by whatever hackish means necessary. And then they wonder why the liberal media is so critical.

Read the rest: An Opportunity for The King’s College | Patrol – A review of religion and the modern world.

christianity in america

Previous Post

October 24, 2012

Let Me Repeat: Mitt's Mormonism Matters

Next Post

October 25, 2012 Bishop Al Mohler Strikes Again

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category bible blogging books christianity in america church church history dissertation divorce Dog Training education emergent church essay family funny glbt jopa productions ministry minnesota movies music parenting philosophy politics Prayer publishing Questions That Haunt random same sex marriage speaking spirituality Teaching technology television theology Travels Uncategorized writing youth ministry

Select a Month January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 June 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004 February 2004 January 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What happened when Jesus broke five loaves and two fish for a crowd?

Select your answer to see how you score.

There were leftovers Only five were fed A rainstorm started People went hungry