I am an alumnus of PCC. In the years since my graduation, I have experienced continued growth and have changed significantly. One of my brothers is approaching the age of choosing a college, and has mentioned that PCC is his first choice. This has caused me to review in my mind what advice to offer him.
My focus is on the set of positive values that I think are shared by all people of good will. These are, for instance:

1. Mental integrity instead of thought stopping.
2. Objectivity instead of pre-judgement.
3. Dignity of being a person instead of being property.
4. Government of, by and for the governed instead of unquestioning submission.
5. Due process instead of unaccountable authorities.

One reason that I do not recommend PCC is that they deprioritize the first set of values in favor of the other set of values I listed, which function to no other end than to aggrandize their own power at the expense of others.

fas-cism (fshzm) n.

1. often Fascism
   1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
   2. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

Fortunately racism is not a serious problem at PCC, and it is not based around a nation. The PCC administration, and many of the parents of the students, practice a mild home-grown American version of fascism based not on racist or nationalistic chauvinism but on religious chauvinism. Of course none of them would choose to go by that discredited name or be associated with Mussolini, but they proudly proclaim the talking points of totalistic control:

1. There is one narrowly defined right way for everyone to be.
2. One person or a small group of people know best what that is. (This is what Arlin Horton calls his Vision that he had when he started the school.)
3. Therefore, grab power. Carve out a niche in the world and say, Everybody here is going to be the way I want them to be!
4. A fascistic mindset would say those in power are complicit in the wrongdoing of their subordinates if they do not enforce every little thing.
5. Therefore, more control is better, even if it is the most private and intimate thing. The One Way to be right is overspecified to an amazing level of detail.
6. If it is in the inner parts of the heart, then think of some outward form to attach it to, and then enforce that.
7. What anybody else says does not matter, not those who the leaders oppose, who are demonized…
8. …not even potential allies. Therefore the totalist must belligerently proclaim the superiority of their narrow description of perfection.
9. …especially not those who are governed, since they exist only to be improved on, and serve only as pawns to realize the leader’s vision.

Anyone who is in power has got that power from a mass movement. It is the followers who become convinced that authorities know best. They then excuse anything. That is why the American fundamentalist Christian school movement, by inculcating this philosophy, made it possible at PCC.

To a proponent of such a political philosophy, “freedom” often simply means “freedom to go somewhere else.” To them, it is not enough to say “if you do not conform to the One Right Way to be at PCC, go somewhere else.” Many of them extend it to the country too, when they say “love it or leave it.”

Some have said, “But we need rules in every society or group.” Yes, but those are the bare minimum rules to protect us from each other. The distinction between ethics and virtue is that ethics is about avoiding harming people. Virtue is internal maintenance that cannot be legislated– only its image can be legislated. For instance, nobody needs to be protected from somebody else’s hair length! It is all about having a place that looks like a storybook picture, but the result is a facade. As people grow, we become responsible for developing virtue. With that responsibility comes the right to differences of conscience in as many matters as society can sustain. But PCC takes away both the right and the responsibility to develop virtue– an outside framework of appearance is imposed in its place.

Since PCC is a surveillance society of phone-tapping, mail-opening, secret search and seizure, and reporting on each other, showing authentic individuality is risky. Everyone must conform to the facade of “spiritual victory” or else they are suspected of not being “fully supportive of our policies or standards,” in the words of one expulsion letter.

The environment has been built to make the administration comfortable, but also as a way to insulate them from accountability by censoring legitimate challenge and criticism. Those who criticize them are accused of criticizing God. They are not accountable to the students, the faculty, other institutions or churches, or the surrounding community. But don’t worry– in their morning devotions they will hold themselves accountable to God. I am ashamed that I fell for something so transparently self-serving.

Here lies the issue as I see it with the infallibility of the PCC administration. Listening to the sermons will eventually tell a story about how their decisions are made.

Step 1: In their morning devotions, they pray and search the bible over absolutely any question, whether it applies to them or the staff or the faculty or the students.

Step 2: They disregard whether scripture is clear and unambiguous on the topic. If it is silent on the topic, they fish until they are really scraping the bottom of the hermeneutical barrel.

Step 3: If they get a feeling of peace about an answer, that is revalation from the Holy Spirit which is “spiritually discerned.” Of course what the Holy Spirit “says” is final.

Step 4: The “Holy Spirit” wouldn’t contradict himself, and the PCC administration will not doubt that they possess his leading. Therefore if the “Holy Spirit” gave someone else peace about a different conclusion, that person is either lying or does not have the “Holy Spirit.”

Step 5: As a result, the areas in which PCC allows freedom of disagreement shrink to an almost invisible level, and only concern trivialities.

So what is the opposite of fascism? What is the positive alternative? Without defining it too narrowly, some have called it pluralism. Pluralism is frequently decried in sermons and on Christian radio. But what we should hope for in an open society is for as many possible different viewpoints to be heard.

What some other PCC students have said:

“In all seriousness, PCC is like the Taliban, only w/out the violence….

I had the chance yesterday to talk to a group of teenage girls from Afghanistan who are visiting the U.S. through a volunteer organization. These are girls who lived through the Taliban regime and survived (no small accomplishment). Some of the stories they were telling sounded exactly the same as PCC, except that, again, they had to face violence. For instance, any kind of picture or book or image of any kind that showed flesh was covered up. In PCC’s library, any skin of a “revealing nature” was covered w/ black markers. And of course there are surprise inspections, clothing requirements, male dominance, chaperones at all times, nighttime abductions (i.e., shadowing), I mean, you name it. If anyone thinks I’m exaggerating, check out Rashid’s “Taliban” and in the back is an appendix w/ a list of Taliban rules, and what you will find is, again, if you remove the elements of violence, could almost be a page straight from PCC’s handbook….

Fanaticism is a quality that seems to transcend religious differences….”

– Paul S. Perdue, June 27, 2004

“Speaking of comparing to others.

I have a friend who defected from Communist Czech many years ago. When I told him my PCC stories, he started to laugh. With his heavy accent he remarked, “That sounds just like my country.only we had guns.”"

– Dale Fincher, June 27, 2004

Marks of a Good Education

Another reason I do not recommend PCC is that their philosophy undermines educational goals. Looking back on my education, the best way to improve the value of the education students receive at my alma mater would be to offer more encouragement to the open exchange of opposing ideas. Exposure accomplishes this end better than shelter. There are three factors that have combined to bring about the birth of objective thought, so crucial to education, in civilizations going back as far as ancient Greece.

First was the forum, where ideas were publicly debated. Simply put, it is essential to have a student-run paper with an editorial page free from interference. There should be no penalties for faculty, staff and students to attempt to persuade each other of anything on any subject. Although it is troubling that people can be deceived by misleading information, the unhindered spread of ideas has been shown to be the only way for truth to prevail on the balance. Certainly, beliefs are made more confident by defeating other beliefs on a level playing field than by being treated with favoritism. It is unnecessary and counter-productive to educational goals to require that faculty, staff and students be in full support of college policies. There are countless successful colleges who do not do so, for this reason.

The second factor was abundant travel across the Mediterranean. Traveling scholars were challenged by unfamiliar thoughts which they robustly challenged back. In this light, there should be no off-campus movement policies, students should be allowed to attend local churches of their choice, and most importantly, the worldwide web and e-mail must be restored. To put critical-thinking skills into practice, freedoms of travel and association provide the essential cross-pollination of ideas.

The third factor was the absence of an intermediary priesthood. Controversies cannot be resolved by having both sides represented by a spokesperson for one side. Therefore, the most prominent opponents of PCC positions should be cordially invited to campus to offer public rebuttal statements in person. Similarly, there must be better accountability and redress of grievances in the student disciplinary process. Students who are accused must be allowed to face their accusers. Their charge should be told to them in advance of the Discipline Committee, so that they can prepare a defense. Discipline Committee should be held only for those who wish to attempt to refute charges against them. If there are no abuses of discipline, then reciprocal oversight will only increase confidence in the system.
1. This is inspired by a passage from Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science by Alan Cromer (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) which was quoted in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan.

F.M.E.– Frequently Made Excuses

“Yes, it has it’s problems and flaws, but can you show me a school that doesn’t ?”

Its flaws are unacceptable ones. Most secular colleges allow criticism of the administration and don’t make the critic persona-non-grata.

“It’s all in what you make of it.”

But you can get just as much (or more) educational value elsewhere without the needless drawbacks. People have to have their value priorities screwed up to think it is worth it.

“You have no experience running a school. Do you think you know better than them?”

The experts I would appeal to are the countless secular universities which are run right. I know many are dominated by political correctness, but I do not support them either, since it is the same problem. In the end, it’s not difficult to know better than PCC, when they are on the crackpot fringe of society.

“Why are you so bitter?”

Why aren’t you upset by human rights violations and indoctrination?

“Rebellion is evil, thus you are evil, right?”

I have no problem with legitimate authority. The only authorities that should be recognized are accountable in some way to those below them who they govern. My local, state and federal government is of, by and for the people they govern. My employer is a team-based organization. I even know many pastors who don’t set themselves up as the final arbiter of scriptural interpretation. All of these good authorities respect individual thought and conscience. Those who refuse to be accountable to those below them who they govern, are lawless rogues who have broken the social contract. Because they are accountable to no one but god, PCC is a renegade authority in this sense. If you believe rebellion is always bad you are naive. I want no part of it.

Top Ten Advice If You Absolutely Must Attend PCC

1. Read the dictionary definition of the word “fascist.” It is not just an empty slur related to Benito Mussolini. It has a content. People of good will are opposed to that content.
2. Read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” See the made-for-TV movie of it if possible, to help you visualize.
3. When the administration or their henchmen tell you that they watch for your souls, visualize Napoleon the pig from “Animal Farm” standing behind the pulpit, waving a bible.
4. Read George Orwell’s “1984.” Learn what “doublethink” and “groupspeak” mean.
5. A secret between two people is not a secret. You never hear about anybody getting away with breaking the rules; that is because everybody who tells people gets caught. Trust no one. Those who you trust will be taken to an interrogation room and broken down until they turn you in.
6. Do not confuse illegal and immoral. To keep them from deadening your perception of moral realities, you must maintain a separate identity. So excercise secret civil disobedience at every prudent opportunity, just for the principle of it. Even little things will help.
7. When under pressure in the Dean’s office: do not sign anything that they command you to sign. They are setting you up to get their final licks in because you have dared to free yourself.
8. Call a lawyer if your legal rights are trampled on. It works!
9. If you call a lawyer and someone quotes the scripture about not suing Christians, visualize Napoleon the pig from “Animal Farm” standing behind the pulpit, waving a bible.
10. Most importantly, always remember that “resistance is NOT futile.” You can escape. You can get a loan for a secular college. You can recover. It will not be the end of the world. Whatever consequences you face for leaving will be worth it.