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A Review of “Reforming Our Universities” by David Horowitz

Academic Freedom Affects Us All



Reading David Horowitz's latest book, “Reforming Our Universities: The Campaign for an Academic Bill of Rights”, reminds us of just how overwhelming the indoctrination is in today's universities.

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Perhaps just as important, it reminds us of how difficult these battles can be. Calls for reform may be fair and just, but that doesn't make them easy to accomplish. Although it will come as no surprise to most of us that our universities are run by progressive ideology, the book reveals some outrageous examples that are likely to be beyond what you might even imagine. One example given is from a freshman orientation:
“...students were often divided according to their membership by ethnicity and race into “oppressed” and “oppressor” groups. They were instructed through training films which bore titles such as “Blue Eyes” and “Skin Deep,” in which blue eyes and white skin were presented as symbols of the oppressor group, and brown eyes and brown skin as those of its victims.”
It is not like the universities don't want to hire and promote various points of view, but according to one professor, they simply can't, as the conservative candidates are just too stupid. As quoted in the book, Professor Robert Brandon from Duke University explained:
“We try to hire the best, smartest people available...If, as John Stuart Mill said, stupid people are generally conservative, then there are lots of conservatives we will never hire.”
The resistance Horowitz has battled in his attempt to establish academic freedom and balance for students has the usual level of hypocritical arguments we have grown accustomed to. The opposition expresses Horowitz's Academic Bill of Rights in outrageous terms as if it is something unheard of. In Ohio, for example:
“...faculty senates throughout the state had followed the ACLU's lead , calling the legislation “chilling” and claiming that it involved “serious and unnecessary restrictions,” while in fact it merely quoted word for word the text of the American Association of University Professor's own statement on academic freedom.”
This sounds like the usual technique that progressives apply, as they did in Arizona, decrying an immigration law that was virtually the same as the federal law already in place. Somehow when it was signed by a conservative governor, it was completely different. Yet another example of the hypocrisy Horowitz dealt with actually compared the call for academic freedom to “McCarthyism”. From American Federation of Teachers (AFT) vice president William Scheuerman:
“...nothing more than a quota system for political extremists so they can deliver their right-wing political sermons in the classroom. In case you think this version of McCarthyism has no place in the United States, think again.”
This from the progressives that would love to give you the Fairness Doctrine again? The same ideology that would wipe Fox News off the face of the earth if it was possible? It is quite obvious that freedom is all well and good when it tips in their favor, but otherwise, forget about it. We simply cannot afford to allow the continued indoctrination at our universities to brainwash young thinkers, decade after decade. They are the legislators of tomorrow, the scientists of tomorrow and the researchers of tomorrow. If this is the only viewpoint they have been exposed to, you would be foolish to expect their approach in their chosen careers to be different. You would be very foolish not to see the effect it will have on us all. In reading the book, the reader will experience the constant frustration Horowitz and his team have gone through year after year, taking one step forward and two steps back. Promises are made only to be manipulated or disregarded. Despite this, they celebrate the small victories and keep fighting. If you paid no attention to anything else in the book, we can all learn a lesson from Horowitz's dedication to the cause and refusal to give up. Let's face it; many of us may have given up a similar battle after the first defeat, but the stakes are too high to throw in the towel so easily. With the many cultural battles being fought today, we would do well to follow his example.


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Michelle Horstman -- Bio and Archives

Michelle Horstman is a small business owner, artist and mother of three in Texas. Michelle also writes for NewsRealBlog and her personal blog can be found at Benfranklinslepthere.blogspot.com </em>


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