The Conservative Scholar in the Twenty-First Century by George A. Panichas

Will conservative scholars be able to find a place in the university? Perhaps at a few. But how much longer before the intellectual elites, whether they be at academic institutions or research centers, are discredited? I suppose those at research centers will be able to keep their jobs longer, if they are in the pay of powerful political and economic interest groups. But the supposedly neutral Ivory Tower? How many colleges and universities were aware of the precarious situation of the American economy? And how many assumed that they could continue to make a living off of American citizens, raising their tuition and other expenses, while their clients suffer from diminishing returns? Very few of those who believe themselves to have a better grasp of reality are actually aware of the deeper problems facing the country (natural resource depletion, peak oil, and so on) and done anything to inform their colleages and students, and even fewer have rocked the boat to suggest that colleges and universities need to reform themselves and bring their mission goals into accord with sustainability.

It's much easier to continue believing that there's nothing wrong with the current system and to believe that eventually things will right themselves. It is a spurious form of hope that ignores the reality of sin, and the consequences of men turning away from God.

Won't people get tired of academics who talk the good talk, but do nothing to live up to their ideals? The 'commoners' will respect those who not only inform, but practice what they preach.

Edit. AP: As economy swoons, parents fret over college costs