Comments on: Yes, Please Get Out

By: Lucrèce

Lucrèce — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:08:52 +0000

This means that the old liberal guard, who has dominated education in the US and in the rest of the Western world for decades, may lose its influence.
Do you think really that prominent American scholars of 1970’s-1980’s like Bernard Lewis, Lucy S. Dawidowicz and Raul Hilberg were dangerous liberal activists? Or, that, since 1970’s, Prof. Lewy is a leftist?

I’ve noticed this at my own university; where the old guard realizes that there are those who can seriously disagree with their views, the new bunch seems to assume that every well educated person is highly progressive, agrees that the United States and Israel are forces for evil, are convinced that capitalism is the most evil system ever created by mankind, and so on.
And they eat children during their breakfeast, probably?

Sorry, mister van der Galiën, but this superficially done attack against progressive academics could not leave me indifferent, for reasons that you believe. I do not recognize, in this bar-room philosophizing, the Michael van der Galiën who challenge the Armenian lies.

By: Bill W Stl

Bill W Stl — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:04:24 +0000

Not sure I understand - somehow because the old liberal college professors are retiring that they have not been hiring in their image for the last 35 years? One thing that is not diverse about colleges is ideology of the staff.

By: Connor

Connor — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:56:17 +0000

I’m sure there are moderate and even conservative professors out there, but what I’m arguing is that it’s the system that you find in universities which promotes liberalism.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:36:40 +0000

“a great number of idealistic (and often hedonistic) young people, it almost inevitably results in liberalism”

If my kids are at all indicative then this would not quite apply since they found their liberal profs (and not all were liberal) MORE liberal than they were.

By: Connor

Connor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:28:54 +0000

Doesn’t seem that crazy to suggest that some schools suck and others do quite well.

But I do agree with you about the bias. But I think the effect is caused more by the structure of universities rather than the faculty. When you emphasize "free inquiry" without any sort of moral or religious guidance, and then add a great number of idealistic (and often hedonistic) young people, it almost inevitably results in liberalism.

At least that’s my impression; unlike most of my classmates I had been a Marine before going to college and thus had a slightly different view of things.

By: Chuck Norton

Chuck Norton — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:45:44 +0000

My upcoming book is on this very subject. Thanks for your input.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:13:39 +0000

All three of my kids (two graduated and one a junior) commented on their frustration with strongly-liberal biased profs. Not all of them were ready for retirement.

This quote gets me:
“Schools in the United States promise equal opportunity. They have not kept that promise. In this course, we will try to find out why.”

You don’t introduce your “bias”/conclusion at the beginning of the course. Wouldn’t it be better to say “…In this course we will try to find out if schools have kept their promise” By the very nature of the teacher/pupil relationship, the more powerful position of the teacher will “encourage” students to “see it their way”