SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html?_r=0
WE progressives believe in diversity, and we want women, blacks, Latinos, gays and Muslims at the table — er, so long as they aren't conservatives. Universities are the bedrock of progressive values, but the one kind of diversity that universities disregard is ideological and religious. We're fine with people who don't look like us, as long as they think like us.
O.K., that's a little harsh. But consider George Yancey, a sociologist who is black and evangelical. "Outside of academia I faced more problems as a black," he told me. "But inside academia I face more problems as a Christian, and it is not even close."
I've been thinking about this because on Facebook recently I wondered aloud whether universities stigmatize conservatives and undermine intellectual diversity. The scornful reaction from my fellow liberals proved the point.
"Much of the 'conservative' worldview consists of ideas that are known empirically to be false," said Carmi. "The truth has a liberal slant," wrote Michelle. "Why stop there?" asked Steven. "How about we make faculties more diverse by hiring idiots?"
To me, the conversation illuminated primarily liberal arrogance — the implication that conservatives don't have anything significant to add to the discussion. My Facebook followers have incredible compassion for war victims in South Sudan, for kids who have been trafficked, even for abused chickens, but no obvious empathy for conservative scholars facing discrimination.
The stakes involve not just fairness to conservatives or evangelical Christians, not just whether progressives will be true to their own values, not just the benefits that come from diversity (and diversity of thought is arguably among the most important kinds), but also the quality of education itself. When perspectives are unrepresented in discussions, when some kinds of thinkers aren't at the table, classrooms become echo chambers rather than sounding boards — and we all lose.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday August 30 2016, @03:33PM
I just read something the other day about how through the tolerance exercised by the majority, a tiny minority can exercise a tyranny of change on the majority. That's pretty much what we're doing across the board right now, because most of us are tolerant, reasonable people. Fundamentalists change moderate Muslims (look at formerly-secular Turkey); Muslims change Westerners; eventually we're all fundamentalist Muslims, like it or not.
Intolerance is a GOOD thing, if you want to preserve Western freedoms.
As to jihad, Islam defines four kinds: war, economic, spoken word, and written word; migration is one of the accepted ways of spreading Islam. Why go to the bother and expense of a shooting war if pouring money into the right hands will get your creed shouted to the rooftops and your missionaries invited everywhere?
Do you know Bill Warner's videos? (Political Islam) Very informative and objective analysis.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.