Monday, while speaking at a town hall meeting in Des Moines,
IA President Obama came out in favor of free expression and the marketplace of
ideas. Everyone was surprised because, sad to say, it seemed out of character. When asked about whether the government should cut funding to colleges
on the basis of ideology, he responded:
The
purpose of college is not just to transmit skills. It’s also to widen your
horizons; to make you a better citizen; to help you to evaluate information, to
help you make your way through the world; to help you be more creative.
The way
to do that is to create a space where a lot of ideas are presented and collide
— where people are having arguments and people are testing each other’s
theories, and over time people learn from each other because they’re getting
out of their own narrow point of view and having a broader point of view.
He continued:
The
idea that you’d have somebody in government making a decision about what you
should think ahead of time or what you should be taught — and if it’s not the
right thought, or idea, or perspective, or philosophy, that that person
wouldn’t get funding — runs contrary to everything we believe about education.
You might be thinking: where has this guy been for the last
several years? Or, you might be thinking: better late than never. Or, you might
be thinking that this is the guy who said: If you like your plan, you can keep
your plan.
We applaud Obama’s embrace of free and open discussion. And
yet, we must ask whether his administration has followed these principles.
Has it reached out to Republicans in order to draft
legislation that would contain some of the good ideas offered up by the opposition?
Or, has it pushed through whatever legislation it could, by whatever means it
could? Has it tried to craft an Iran arms deal that would pass Congressional
muster, that would contain some of the ideas and suggestions that have been
offered by the opposition and the principal actors in the region? Or has it
made the deal it wanted to make, without consulting with anyone? Has it
insisted that the deal’s supporters have a chance to vote for it or even to
debate it in the Senate?
So, before cheering for Obama’s “liberal” views on free
expression, keep in mind that the campus crackdown on free expression occurred
during his administration and that much of it is consistent with his own
governing style.
Be that as it may, Obama did come out against the current
mania over trigger warnings:
I’ve
heard of some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker
who, you know, is too conservative. Or they don’t want to read a book if it has
language that is offensive to African-Americans, or somehow sends a demeaning
signal towards women.
I don’t
agree with that, either. I don’t agree that you — when you become students at
colleges — have to be coddled and protected from different points of view.
Anybody
who comes to speak to you and you disagree with, you should have an argument
with them. But you shouldn’t silence them by saying, “You can’t come because,
you know, my — I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.”
That’s
not the way we learn, either.
Of course, this is correct. And yet, how many of Obama’s
supporters in the media shout racism every time that anyone criticizes anything
that he has said or done? How much of the” black lives matter” movement and the
hostility toward white police officers were instigated by him and his attorney
general? How many times did Obama run to the microphone when someone black had
been injured or killed by someone white and how often did he run away from it
whenever someone white had been killed by someone black?
You have to wonder why he even bothered? We know this is not what he believes. What angle is he coming from?
ReplyDeleteOr in his unique case; did he have a psychotic break ;) ?
"have an argument with them"
ReplyDeleteWell they do, they just do it the modern way, plug their ears and scream until they get their way. Sorta like 2 year olds......
The loss of rhetoric from the uni agenda has rendered many hapless when it comes to the art of persuasion/argument.
Stuart: The lesson is: actions speak louder than words.
ReplyDeleteHysteria doesn't seem to be a partisan predicament. So whatever the failure of words leading to reason in action, they have to be the starting point.
While we're learning our lessons we might also contemplate whether religious freedom enables government workers to not do their job with no consequences or whether fantasies about Christians being imprisoned for their beliefs requires the suspension of critical thought.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/14/how-kim-davis-violated-the-first-amendment.html
Are there any conservatives are interested in reasoned arguments over the separation of church and state?
Obama talks a lot. Anyone believe a thing he says? The Iran deal will bring peace. We have shovel-ready projects. The police acted stupidly. Trayvon could've been my son. Yes we can. I have the authority. It's all Congress's fault. Picking Joe Biden as VP was the best political choice of my career. I am a U.S. citizen. ISIS is a JV team. Romney wanted to kill his dog. I believe marriage is between one man and one woman. We're reducing the deficit. I'll accept public funding for my presidential campaign. -$$$
ReplyDelete