{"id":11896,"date":"2026-03-10T06:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=11896"},"modified":"2026-03-10T06:21:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:21:00","slug":"liberal-arts-education-as-a-counterbalance-to-trumpian-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=11896","title":{"rendered":"Liberal Arts Education As a Counterbalance To Trumpian AI"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By MIKE MAGEE<\/p>\n

What\u2019s wrong in the social science realm of health? Consider for example the mental health crises affecting teens across the nation, or the sharp decline in relationships and child bearing in young adult men and women, or the attack on vaccine policy by the wayward Kennedy, or the attempted dismantling of ACA health insurance coverage for millions, or the outright cruelty of ICE agents toward citizens and legal aliens, or the callous attitude toward Middle East casualties of soldiers and civilians by the President and the \u201cSecretary of War\u201d\u2026 and I could go on.<\/p>\n

How should our nation begin to address these grievances? With our grandchildren either in or fast approaching higher education, I\u2019ve been making a related case (as I see it) for the value and importance of a liberal arts education. In a strange way, Trump, in his attacks on the law and democracy, has instigated a resurgence of interest in history, philosophy, religion, political science, literature and the arts \u2013 even in this age of fantastical AI exuberance.<\/p>\n

My own alma mater has been steadfast in its vision. As they state on\u00a0their own website,<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThe liberal arts education at Le Moyne is rooted in the Jesuit tradition, which emphasizes the education of the whole person and the search for meaning and value as integral parts of an intellectual life. This commitment to a liberal arts education allows students to develop a broad range of skills and knowledge, fostering ethical leadership, service, and a commitment to social justice. The college\u2019s Core Curriculum is central to its mission, ensuring that all students receive a thorough education in the liberal arts, which includes knowledge across multiple disciplines and the confidence to engage in intellectual inquiry as members of a global community.\u201d<\/p>\n

In simpler terms, LeMoyne\u2019s\u00a0front page<\/a>\u00a0headlines \u201cWe strive for\u00a0greatness<\/em>\u00a0always through the eyes of\u00a0goodness.<\/em>\u201d I thought of this last week as I watched\u00a0James Talarico\u2019s speech<\/a>\u00a0accepting his Democratic Primary nomination for Senate in Texas. In part explaining his convincing victory numbers as a result of his ability to attract a large turnout of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, he issued what will certainly be his rallying cry:\u00a0\u201c<\/em>The people of this state have given this country a little bit of hope, and a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Who is in danger?\u00a0Talarico has tagged<\/a>\u00a0not only billionaires, but especially Christian Nationalists who he says\u00a0\u201cdivide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion so that we don\u2019t notice that they\u2019re defunding our schools, gutting our health care and cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends. It is the oldest strategy in the world: Divide and conquer. But we will not be conquered.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week CUNY Political Scientist,\u00a0Peter Beinart,<\/a>\u00a0laid out a remarkable opinion piece in the New York Times, leaning heavily on liberal arts to make a convincing case against empire building and king Trump. In opposing\u00a0 national sovereignty and international law conventions, he spotlights the\u00a0President\u2019s source of guidance<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201c<\/em>My own morality. My own mind. It<\/em>\u2019<\/em>s the only thing that can stop me.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Beinart bolsters his case against Trump by digging deep into our own history, political science, literature and religion. Included in the journey are President William McKinley<\/a> (intent on Caribbean Empire building), and his opponent, William Jennings Bryan,<\/a> who claimed McKinley\u2019s action \u201cis not a step forward toward a broader destiny; it is a step backward, toward the narrow views of kings and emperors.\u201d\u00a0John Quincy Adams<\/a>\u00a0appears in 1821 stating such purposeful aggressions would undermine \u201cthe fundamental maxims of American policy (and) would insensibly change (democratic practice) from liberty to force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others come forward as well including Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, W.E.B. Du Bois, John Kenneth Galbraith. Taken into account Beinart\u2019s impressive essay and Talarico\u2019s acceptance speech, side by side in a short 24 hours, reminds us all that the soul of our democracy requires health, unity, and the capacity to awaken \u201cour better angels.\u201d<\/p>\n

To paraphrase the LeMoyne motto, our\u00a0greatness<\/em>\u00a0must flow from our\u00a0goodness.<\/em>\u00a0The core of a well educated electorate is knowledge, wisdom, and values. In its absence, we are left with ignorance, greed, and hatred.<\/p>\n

Mike Magee MD is a Medical Historian and regular contributor to THCB. He is the author of CODE BLUE: Inside America\u2019s Medical Industrial Complex.<\/a> (Grove\/2020)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MIKE MAGEE What\u2019s wrong in the social science realm of health? Consider for example the mental health crises affecting teens across the nation, or the sharp decline in relationships and child bearing in young adult men and women, or the attack on vaccine policy by the wayward Kennedy, or the attempted dismantling of ACA…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11896"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}