Okay, I feel a political rant coming on.
A friend of mine told me this story: He privately asked a professor for his opinion on a certain hot-button issue at our school. The professor refused to give it. I don’t know which professor, I don’t know his views, I wasn’t even there, but I wonder if the recent layoffs at our school had anything to do with his silence.
You see, a few years ago, our university downsized a certain department, and many of the teachers sent away seemed to all share a conservative viewpoint. With perhaps one exception I’ve heard of, the professors remaining in that department are either apolitical or openly on the left.
We do not live in a culture which values truth or open debate. I don’t know the professor’s motivation, but I’m afraid his motive was fear. I’m afraid that people see the removal of certain professors, suspect a certain underlying cause, and, wise in their generation, keep their mouths shut regarding anything that might associate them with a conservative viewpoint.
The issue itself wasn’t even all that political, a certain interpretation of Genesis, but the issue is certainly a weathervane by which others might assume someone’s politics.
I worry for my school, and I worry for my nation, because we’re seemingly passing the point of debate. The question of whether Trump won or lost the election is moot; neither side has faith in the election. If people cannot (or merely believe they cannot) make their voices heard through peaceful means, such as voting or expressing honest opinions privately, then controversies will not be settled peacefully. One political side is already willing to use violence through organizations like Antifa and BLM. Does anyone doubt that these organizations will loot and destroy cities across our country if Trump wins? And if Trump loses? Can it be called anything but civil war should the republicans begin to engage in the same behavior?
I feel the provocative nature of what I write. I am young, and I hope I’m wrong here: it seems impossible for one side to engage in terrorism without the other side marshaling itself into an equally violent reaction.
Unless, of course, we are a nation of cowards; a nation not of men but of slaves.
Related: Bravery
Tale Told 