05-29-2017, 02:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-29-2017, 02:21 PM by Eric the Green.)
(05-29-2017, 04:22 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN reports on a claim by Fareed Zakaria that liberals are intolerant.
CNN Wrote:Fareed Zakaria said Saturday that though many liberals think they are tolerant, often they aren't.
Zakaria noted that "at the height of commencement season," many new graduates across the country had made their political views apparent, from the Notre Dame students who walked out as Vice President Mike Pence gave his commencement address to the crowd members who booed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos during a speech at Bethune-Cookman University.
"American universities seem committed to every kind of diversity except intellectual diversity. Conservative voices and views are being silenced entirely," Zakaria said.
I'm not sure this is right. Conservatives were given opportunity to speak. The Notre Dame students didn't have to listen. The Bethune-Cookman students spoke back. There might be an error in liberals inviting in people who will say what the students don't want to hear.
Or is that a mistake? A lot of the problem is nobody listening to the other guy. Once a partisan latches on to a world view, he'll reject the opposite, often not listening just in case something new is offered. Given what Pence or DeVos generally have to say, it's not surprising that well educated kids are apt to reject it.
Is it intolerance if one has a strong opinion and rejects the opposite opinion? There is sure a lot of opinions and rejection, in America, and on this forum.
Conservatives are being "silenced" and yet somehow they control the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, the majority of governorships and statehouses, not to mention the corporations and family businesses that dominate our society. Somehow I have little sympathy with the "conservatives" ' complaints. Obviously, when Republican candidates can assault reporters who ask tough questions, and still win, it is the fact-seekers who are being silenced, not the ruffian and blatantly anti-intellectual, anti-human, anti-nature Republicans who have been allowed to dominate our society. Pence and DeVoss, two examples of these Republicans, have absolutely nothing enlightening to say.
Partisanship by Democrats and liberals is what is needed now. This outrageous 40-year retreat from every progressive value must be resisted, and this is a 4T. Compromise is not an option in 4T's. "There is no substitute for victory" must be our motto now.
If some people can incorporate "listening" into their toolkit for communication, and that can reach some people, that's good. That's a question of tactics. Real people among all voters have real concerns. But our place in history is clear. We are divided, and a permanent choice between us must be made in the next 10 years. Those who share some views with each side, must also choose which side to align with.
Zakaria usually makes sense; this time I'm not so sure.