Celebrity vs. Character in Modern Education
Joe diGenova, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Fox News, December 5, 2017 "Tucker Carlson Show", made the following observations about the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its former director, James Comey:
I think the FBI is in very serious trouble. It started with James Comey. Comey, the dirtiest cop in America, destroyed the FBI’s reputation with his bizarre personal behavior, beginning way before his July 5th news conference. The bureau is in trouble. It needs a major overhaul, and if it continues to resist Congress, I believe the contempt of Congress for the current director and other people in the agency is absolutely justified.
This was a stunning evaluation of Comey, who had basked in the apparently undeserved glow of positive press coverage during his tenure as FBI head. But as details of the non-investigation and apparent Obama administration attempts to exonerate and cover up Hillary Clinton’s alleged scandals are increasingly exposed, the picture of James Comey and his upper level of FBI management seem more and more to justify diGenova’s harsh appraisal.
This being the case, I was surprised to read on January 19, 2018, in the Chronicle of Higher Education that, “James Comey, who was fired last year as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by President Trump will co-teach this fall a course about “ethical leadership” to students at the College of William & Mary, his alma mater.”
Since Comey has been judged worthy of teaching ethics, there are a plethora of other interesting possibilities for this formerly prestigious institution of learning:
- Bill Clinton could teach a class on America’s changing family values;
- Elizabeth Warren could teach a class on assuming ethnicity for career and profit;
- Harvey Weinstein could teach a class on creative ways to enjoy a career in upper management;
- Bill Cosby would be ideal for a class on chemistry and dating;
- Matt Lauer could lecture on the use of modern technology to insure office security; and
- Al Franken would be a draw for a class on professional behavior in the age of Clinton.
There are numerous other exciting educational possibilities. As one can readily see, the sky is truly the limit for a university bereft of professorial standards other than that of celebrity.