
If it were a plague, the government would rush to quarantine the infected, as occurred during
An immigration debate at
The
At first I thought it was a joke. It is. But a joke played on those elites who claim to believe in tolerance, academic freedom and inclusion.
Many college campuses claim devotion to diversity, while practicing and imposing conformity. To them, diversity has to do with skin color, ethnicity and sexual orientation. It is secular liberalism dressed up in different garb. Real diversity would include people of different opinions.
At
The last I checked a debate is supposed to include opposing points of view. The purpose of a debate is to inform people so they can decide which view is superior to the other. In the '80s, these were the kinds of debates in which I participated on many college campuses.
With only a few exceptions I was granted a respectful hearing, as was my debate opponent. Often we would attend a dinner before the debate, or a reception afterward, where students and faculty could observe us interacting with decorum, humor and mutual respect.
Invitations to college campuses began disappearing in the '90s and I haven't had any since. The stories of high-profile speakers being denied the right to speak or shouted down and demonstrated against should they actually make it onto a campus are legion.
The kind of censorship practiced in
The greater question is this: Why do so many parents, especially conservative parents, send their children to schools that undermine their faith and values, distort history and promote causes that will not help them get a job once they graduate? A corollary question: Why do students take on so much debt to attend universities where their "consciences" might be raised on the liberal side, but where they are shielded from what real life looks like?
Cal Thomas, America's most-syndicated columnist, is the author of 10 books.
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