This week on Free Will, I chat with Michael Berube, author of What’s Liberal About the Liberal Arts about the cultural significance of Obama’s victory, the student vote, and the liberalizing effects of going to college and otherwise being around people different from you, among other things.
Since I was in Iowa City speaking to Michael in State College, I feel it is appropriate to advertise the fact that on Saturday, a couple days after our chat, the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the 3rd-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions by a score of 24-23. This strikes me as important.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Um, sorry, I still haven't processed the loss yet. Carry on).
A couple days after our chat, the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the 3rd-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions by a score of 24-23. This strikes me as important.
More than important — world-historical. Game-changing. Now we have to have this diavlog all over again, this time to take into consideration the question of whether going to college is liberalizing if you're going with the wind or into it. You go first, Will, and I'll defend this end.
Seriously, thanks again for a fun discussion. And congratulate those Hawkeyes for destroying our season and crushing JoePa's hopes for one more run at a national title.
Michael, Aren't you the Paterno Professor? Does your school really have endowed chairs named after football coaches? Tonight I will dream of the inestimable glory of becoming the Hayden Fry Professor of Mental Philosophy.
Oh, it gets better. JoePa is Old School in the best sense: four years of Latin at a Jesuit high school (like me), followed by a B.A. in Classics at Brown and an M.A. in American literature. He still claims Virgil as his favorite poet, and when I asked him about this some years ago, he replied, “yeah, Virgil — he's one of ours.” Meaning, of course, Italians. So, anyway, he endowed my chair and a position in the library. Which is way cooler than, say, the Bobby Knight Thrown Chair in Advanced Anger Management.
As much as I love JoePa and respect Penn State's football tradition, I'd like to thank the Iowa Hawkeyes for giving my beloved Florida Gators the opportunity to win a second national championship in three years.
But here's to JoePa winning out and beating that fraud Bobby Bowden for the most wins in D1 football.
My politically apathetic friends superstitiously blamed me for Penn State's lost this tragic weekend. Their logic: Obama had won the election just a few short days before and something had to give; my week was going too well. I refuse to take responsibility, as convincing as this argument seems.
By the way, one of my favorite recent bloggingheads. Good job.
lmao really interesting blog I had to read a few and checkout the videos.