CRIMSON COURAGE
The curtain came down, and the troubles began,
The fountains of ignorance flooding the land,
And strong universities struggled to stand.
How cowardice fawns and it flatters!
And Harvard alone drew a line in the sand.
It’s only the courage that matters.
Our Lady of Liberty counting her dead,
While judges and Congress now lying abed
Capitulate gladly, a price on their head,
And the nation’s integrity shatters.|
Do not let the bankers decide in your stead!
It’s only your courage that matters.
What happened in Germany smothered the flame
Her great universities never the same.
They’re attacking your purse, but they’re after your name,
And you stature upon it does ride.
A deal with the devil will bring you to shame.
Do not let bankers decide!
Oh, First University, nothing to hide,
The power of Veritas stands at your side
You carry the torch, we follow our guide,
Though your banner be waving in tatters.
The rumors of settlement? Cast them aside!
It’s only the courage that matters.
Your brains and your money, well, everyone knows,
But your heart is the place where the Veritas shows.
Your coffers may shrink, but your influence grows.
Tenacity turning the tide.
Your people are calling, oh, do not refuse!
Do not let bankers decide.
And you cannot haggle with adders.
It’s just Crimson Courage that matters!
Lyrics ©Doug Hendren 2025
(Tune: Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changing”)
What’s it about? VERITAS.
When dictators dismantle democracies, they begin by controlling what passes for truth. They strive to bring under their thumbs any people and institutions responsible for investigating, establishing and protecting what is true.
The Trump administration, using the infamous Project 2025 blueprint, is following the dictator’s playbook closely, including undisguised assaults on judges, science, public health, and higher education. Legislators, lawyers, educators and others who have tried to resist this onslaught have been met with a heavy hand, and often with violence, whether by the administration or by Trump-inspired followers. This is the classic pattern of a descent into fascism.
In April, 2025, The Trump administration launched a multi-pronged attack on Harvard , the only American university refusing outright to comply with Trump’s attempts to exert control over university affairs. Initial confrontations were widely covered in the press. Less widely covered have been discussions between the University and Trump administrations exploring possible “accommodation.”
The US has long had the greatest system of higher education in the world. In 2024, we hosted 1.1 million international students, adding $43.8 billion to our economy and creating 378,175 jobs. We have long attracted the best and the brightest from all over the world. Nearly half of today’s Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants or their children. Immigrants and international students add enormously to our national wealth. According to Forbes magazine, the US spends ten times more on fossil fuel subsidies than on education. Protecting the fossil industry while dismantling American higher education is the work of a dictator, not a person thinking about what makes a nation great.
Harvard is presently the lightning rod for Trump’s assault on American education. It stands to reason that if Harvard gives in, with its deep pockets, legendary legal prowess and powerful players, no other university will dare resist.
Standing up to Trump will cost Harvard plenty, but she will survive. Doing so will both live up to her motto and protect the entire edifice of American higher education.
Don’t let the bankers decide! It’s the courage that matters.
References:
How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Autocracy, Inc., by Anne Applebaum
Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
