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Bill Maher’s Assault on Higher Education

John Amendall

    During “Real Time with Bill Maher” the self-styled expositor of political correctness or incorrectness which ever you prefer, denigrated colleges in a six minute rant. His monologue was prompted by President Biden’s American Families Plan and the proposal for free college for everyone. The latter has also been promoted by several other Democratic lawmakers. Bill is correct in questioning this controversial proposal which deserves broad discussion and debate. However, his draconian treatment of this topic includes some egregious charges. Some of Bill’s comments calling higher education a grift and comparing it to Scientology follow.
    I haven’t ever used the word grift, not to be confused with gift or graft, in a sentence before. A grift is a group or type of method(s) obtaining money falsely through the use of swindles, frauds, dishonest dealings. Perhaps Bill’s college education with a double major in English and History from Cornell University (1978) inspired this term. Bill had some bad experiences as a student with bad associations continuing to the present.
    “But in a grift that is our higher education, when you move up ...you need to pay for more education before we decide you can do what you do,” Bill said. Presumably we is the particular institution participating in the grift.
    According to Bill education swindles money from students, encouraging them to take additional unnecessary courses to prepare them for pursuing their chosen field of occupation. Grifting is a college based business. I wonder how Cornell university views this product of their long term, prestigious institution.
    Bill continued. “F---, this is what Scientology does. Makes you keep taking courses to move up to the bridge of total freedom.” Admittedly I haven’t stayed abreast of Scientology discourse involving the bridge of total freedom, but if he wants to go there it’s Bill’s monologue.
    Bill decried the “hundreds of billions” of dollars in the plan to make sure everyone can go to college.” Many tax payers would agree with this position and do not need Bill to instruct them. To start with Biden’s everyone is misleading. Every high school graduate does not need or want to attend college. People have a variety of skills and interests. Our modern society would be helplessly floundering without the valuable and very necessary services of hard labor. To name a few. Farmers. Kind of important huh! Miners, timbermen, mechanics, carpenters ... You get the idea. For these occupations on the job training is more relevant than higher education. Even so. Vocational schools play a legitimate role preparing people for the above occupations. For that obvious important occupation many states have colleges or universities supporting schools of agriculture.
    A college education does not guarantee a successful occupation. A college education reveals a broad expanse of activities and occupations that one might pursue without initially knowing about them. Responsible and dedicated pursuit of these opportunities favors a successful occupation.
    During the fifties in Chicago I worked as a janitor in the summer. Janitors on vacation needed temporary replacements. I did everything they did, collecting garbage and maintaining boilers 24 hrs/day. One surprising thing I learned. Many of the janitors with accents from various countries and with hard work eventually owned their own three story, 6 flat apartment buildings. So much for a college education for a successful life. Whether such opportunities exist today I’m unsure. But a college education is not necessary to get on with life.
    More Bill. “The solution to college is not to open it to everyone but make it less needed in society.” How’s that again Bill? Last time I looked even public colleges and universities have entrance standards that have to be met before a student is accepted. Ergo everyone who wants to attend college may not immediately qualify. Competition to attend some colleges and universities has provided proven examples of cheating.
    “The right is calling Biden’s plan social engineering which is over the top” (even for Bill). “Liberals see more school the way Republicans see tax cuts – the answer to everything.” This is an overly simplistic view. Both parties benefit from tax breaks and conservatives also value higher education.
    “[College] (his brackets) is a racket that sells a very expensive ticket to upper middle class. Is it really liberal for someone who doesn’t go to college and makes less money to pay for people who do go and make more?” While this is a valid question do the people who do not attend college want to deny their children the opportunity to attend one? I don’t think so. Maintaining that college is a racket is witless. Bill matriculated from a racket; I mean a University (Cornell) that was founded in 1865, and it’s still going strong no thanks to Bill.
    Bill said. “The answer isn’t to make college free, the answer is to make it more unnecessary which is for most jobs.” With increasing technology how many jobs would be available for people without college?
    Moreover what jobs are we talking about here? Some of the occupations mentioned earlier rely on the process of on the job training. Still other essential occupations require more formal and extensive education. In the fifties a student interested in teaching and doing research in a college or university required three degrees. A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in a given discipline, a Master of Science (M.S.) in the same, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The latter frequently required a reading knowledge of two foreign languages. Why you may ask?
    A researcher was expected to be current in research conducted in other countries. Unless one was raised bilingually this necessitated taking several courses in the above languages. Computer programs are now available for translations. Computer competency has replaced the necessity of taking several foreign languages Admittedly this process from B.S. to Ph.D. took 6 or seven years. Presently a BS. and Ph.D. are coupled reducing a few years from the above process. Finally do you really want less is more for medical training? ... I didn’t think so.
    So for Bill. Less is better than more. Different skill sets, student preferences, and family background and support (not necessarily financial) play a role in occupation requiring a particular path in higher education. Do we want to ignore a segment of society that doesn’t have an understanding of such issues as voting rights, abortion, gun control, immigration reform, and yes -free higher education? At least we can encourage public messages about these and other issues through regularly transmitted news media, documentaries and informationals (Smithsonian channel, Nova, Science, National Geographic, Discovery ... ).
    Bill graduated in 1978 and was fortunate enough to obtain a position as the Host of the New York City Comedy Club “Catch a Rising Star” in 1979. Pretty fast and nice to get a job like that so readily. Was Bill qualified for such a position? Did his double major in English and History from Cornell (his racket) aid in this endeavor? It certainly didn’t hurt that his father, a radio announcer and network news editor with his connections might’ve helped Bill obtain this position.
    The deleterious side effect of his free college rant does a serious disservice to the thousands and thousands of men and women dedicated to teaching. While Bill undeniably enjoys a large TV fan base hosting guests, generating comedy and political satire, don’t let this disgruntled man’s 43 year old grudge (1978-2021) with his alma mater diminish the value of higher education, discouraging you to attend college. Try it. It might be for you. You be the judge.

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