# The Myth of the Apolitical Organization By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-04-21 The recent cancellation of Ryan Holiday's lecture at the US Naval Academy starkly illustrates the myth of the "apolitical" organization. Invited to speak on wisdom and stoicism, Holiday found his talk abruptly canceled after the Academy objected to a slide referencing its recent book bans concerning gender and race issues – policies following directives from the Trump Administration. The Academy justified its request by stating it is "apolitical," a claim Holiday rightly contested by pointing out that banning books is a political act. But let's delve deeper: what would a truly "apolitical" US Naval Academy, an institution training officers for war under the direction of a political state, even look like? It would require an impossible detachment – existing without government funding or oversight, disconnected from the political entity it serves, and training officers for missions devoid of national policy objectives. Alternatively, it might mean presenting every conceivable political ideology, historical interpretation, and ethical framework with perfect, equal neutrality – a stance fundamentally incompatible with its mandate to train officers loyal to the US Constitution and operate within specific legal and ethical military doctrines. Even stripping the curriculum down to purely technical skills ignores that political priorities drive decisions about technology and strategy, and war is famously politics by other means. Ultimately, an institution funded by Congress, overseen by the executive branch, and dedicated to implementing national policy through military force cannot be apolitical. Its very existence, purpose, and operational reality are interwoven with the nation's political fabric. Therefore, claiming to be "apolitical" while making decisions _about_ politically charged topics like censorship isn't neutrality; it's a political maneuver, obscuring the inherent political weight of its actions and choices. The Naval Academy is not alone in such maneuvers. This is true within every organization ever created. Don't believe the myth. #### Related Items [[Politics]] [[Power]] [[Status Quo]] [[Wisdom]] [[Book]] [[Organization]] [[American]]