The conflict arises when someone cannot stand seeing a younger person doing something she can t do. Insubordination has not always been a conscious goal of mine. Often, I simply ask a question that no one else my age has asked. Then, I m insubordinate when actually I m in earnest. More frequently than not, what others call insubordination merely amounts to the persistence of a more ambitious person.
Insubordination then is a great virtue in today s academic climate.
It is nothing less than the practice advocated by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Adams when he asserted that a natural aristocracy based on intellect is preferred for governing America s institutions than an aristocracy based on ancestry or wealth. The university would do well to engage Jefferson as well as dryly consider him, as his concept would make for better stewardship of humanity s ideas than the current ways in academia. This is not to oppose the traditional tenure system, which does not pertain to intellectual rank. The insubordinate is only trying to live up to her own ideal of self, and not trying to implicitly insult the elder professors. To the contrary, the young upstart would not try so hard to play a role in humanity s long debate if she didn t want to improve the college.