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September 1, 2005
Say What?
Judge McConnell was one of the speakers yesterday at the U of U for a symposium they held entitled "Free Speech and Democracy on Campus." The article that the Tribune wrote on it started out with many Judge McConnell qoute on how Democracy isn't working. That we've become so polarized that the middle ground isn't suitable for anyone anymore:
Speaking Wednesday at the University of Utah's "Free Speech and Democracy on Campus" symposium, McConnell suggested the absence of respectful civil discussions among politically diverse people contributes to the president's being labeled a "liar and compared to Hitler and the Nazis."
These are "signs that democracy is not working very well," McConnell said, noting that conservatives are turning to Fox News and The Wall Street Journal for their news while liberals are reading The New York Times and watching PBS.
Wonderful. I agree whole-heartedly.
So how did an article that started out so promising deteriorate into this?
McConnell wasn't alone in expressing concerns about the nation's growing political divisiveness. Joining him at the symposium were former U.S. Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, filmmaker Steven Greenstreet, Weber State University President F. Ann Millner and U. President Michael Young.
Shepherd pointed to what she sees as an erosion of academic freedom on college campuses. She noted large conservative organizations are funding campus groups such as Students for Academic Freedom to report professors with perceived liberal biases.
There now is a "great need for objective truth" because language is used more to advance political objectives than to inform, Shepherd said, noting that "global warming" - a call to action - has been replaced with an inactive "climate change."
"We need universities more than ever. . . . We're living in a time when truth has been replaced by spin," she said. "Universities must be havens for free thoughts and expressions."
Let me see if I get this straight. McConnell talks about the partisanship in politics today, and for an example you cite conservative groups who target perceived liberal professors? Have you been to a college campus lately? You have got to be kidding me!
Posted by Jonathan at September 1, 2005 2:03 PM