The Persecution of Professor Anthony Esolen at Providence College.
Providence College
Tony Esolen and I are in different fields, we have different intellectual styles, and different personalities. But we share something much more fundamental: a worldview. We share basic values, principles, moral and religious convictions. If Tony is intolerable, then I am intolerable. And yet…
Princeton University has more than merely “tolerated” me. With full knowledge of my views and commitments, Princeton hired me, granted me tenure, elevated me to the rank of Professor, installed me in one of the University’s most celebrated endowed chairs, and permitted me to found and direct an important academic program (the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions). I have been supported and treated with respect by my colleagues and the University leadership (I have served under four presidents) over the course of my thirty-one years on the faculty. I have taught my courses—all of which touch on sensitive and controversial social issues—in the ways I myself judge best with no interference or pressure of any kind… from anyone. I have enjoyed, as my Princeton colleagues enjoy, complete academic freedom. What’s more, Princeton has denied me no honor or recognition, recently even conferring on me the University’s highest teaching award. If the students, faculty, and administration of Princeton University can tolerate me—and more than merely tolerate me—why can Providence College not tolerate Tony Esolen? If Princeton University—a secular institution the vast majority of whose faculty and administrators and many of whose students are ideologically on the left—can welcome the contributions of someone whose convictions are in line with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church (even when those teachings fly in the face of left-liberal orthodoxies) why can’t Providence College—a Catholic institution—welcome the contributions of an exceptional Catholic scholar such as Anthony Esolen. Indeed, why is Providence not showering Professor Esolen, who is a scholar of exceptional attainments (certainly beyond anything I can claim for myself), with honors and expressing pride in his achievements? Why doesn’t everyone at Providence realize how lucky they are to have Tony Esolen as a colleague and teacher?
Robert George is Chairman at United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, McCormick Professor of Juriprudence at Princeton University, Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and author of Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
Right Report
Follow Us
The Affluent Mix
Biden Oblivious To Illegal Immigration Issues... August 2, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Rob Arnott On Bubbles, Inflation, And Once-In-A-Generation Investment Opportunit... August 2, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
The Federal Reserve’s Massive Theft Of Stability... August 2, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
What To Do About This Difficult Market? August 2, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Letter On The Politicization Of Corporations... July 26, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Peak Of The Fake Bull Market July 26, 2021 | Michael Pento
Woodrow Wilson’s Administrative State vs. Gold... July 26, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Dividends, Energy, And Crypto July 26, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Whose Side Are You On? July 26, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Media, Left Ignore These Dangers July 19, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Mark Skousen On FreedomFest And How To Measure The Whole Economy... July 19, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Quantifying The Quantitative, Or Making Easy The Easing... July 19, 2021 | David Bahnsen
The Gold Standard Means A Rising Standard Of Living... July 19, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Book Review: Brian Domitrovic Reveals The Monetary Genius Of Arthur Laffer... July 19, 2021 | John Tamny
Steve Forbes: Time To Worry About Inflation, Not Hyperinflation... July 12, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
UFOs Rescue Biden July 12, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Read This Classical Economist’s 200 Year Old Warning About Paper Money... July 12, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
How Central Banks Murdered The Markets July 12, 2021 | Michael Pento
Everything There Is To Know About The Stock Market... July 12, 2021 | David Bahnsen
AT&T CEO: We’re Ill Equipped For Politics, And We’re Spending A Lot Of ... July 6, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Internet Bias Distorts National Conversation... July 6, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
The Halfway Point Of 2021 July 6, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.