How The Other Half Thinks: Now Even Being Asked To Explore That Is A Terrible Thing
Knowing the other side's side is how you hone your opinion -- or even change your mind. (To do the latter thing, you have to care more about being informed than you care about "winning.")
But these days, for so many people, being asked to take in anything but information for which they feel near-religious fervor for is some kind of crime against, uh, decency or something.
There's a story about that at Campus Reform.
Toni Airaksinen, a wonderful, thoughtful, industrious Columbia student I first encountered on Twitter (@Toni_Airaksinen), reports that a grad student at the University of St. Francis, Jennifer Martin, went after her prof after he -- gaspiepoo! -- assigned an article published by the Cato Institute.
P.S. I try to remember to read Cato's pieces and I thank Jennifer for reminding me to do that.
As Toni reports the story:
Jennifer Martin, a graduate student studying Medical Sociology, fired off numerous tweets condemning the professor for suggesting that she read The Grass is Not Always Greener, a Cato paper written by Michael Tanner on how the United States healthcare system would benefit from pro-market reform."Just assigned reading material written by Cato institute-conservative propaganda machine funded by Koch bros."
The professor, Fran Steel, told Martin in an email exchange that the article "might give you a broader perspective on the subject," to which Martin replied indignantly that the article was "written by the Cato Institute, a think tank founded by the Koch Brothers."
The article was not mandatory, but rather came as a suggested reading from the professor, which Martin said was recommended "in rebuttal to a previous discussion" she had been having with the professor.
Here's the paper, "The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World."
It's reasonable to question whether a think tank or other organization might be putting out biased material. However, it's also reasonable to question whether a researcher, untethered to a think tank, might be putting out biased material.
I wonder whether Jennifer might be more credulous when it's a point of view she shares right off the bat. (To be fair, that's something we all tend to be.)
I also wonder whether she knows what huge supporters the Koch brothers are of libertarian political causes and the American Negro College Fund.
See whether you find the Koch principles so execrable. Here's Charles on Freakonomics.
"I also wonder whether she knows what huge supporters the Koch brothers are of libertarian political causes and the American Negro College Fund."
She very well might... but in the eyes of the Left, that's another strike against the Kochs. The Left never believed in libertarianism; they simply used it as a mask. And now that they think they are close to Ultimate Victory, the mask is off.
Cousin Dave at June 23, 2017 6:07 AM
I wonder how much the Opposing Viewpoints books are used in high schools these days?
Of course, one big problem with them is that, with many (most?) topics, they need updating every ten years or so.
lenona at June 23, 2017 9:03 AM
I wonder what "medical sociology" is, and how it fits into the subject student's graduate degree.
I also wonder if our esteemed student has learned anything beyond "we're the good guys, and they're the bad guys" in her studies.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at June 23, 2017 9:39 AM
One of the points in the article in question is the fact that elective surgeries (for vision, plastic surgery) have come DOWN in price while others have gone up. The fact that competition leads to innovation and cost savings seems to be accepted for phones and computers but not for medical care, where the "correct" solution is to impose gov monopoly and price controls. Why do progressives love price controls so much? Have they ever done anything but harm?
cc at June 23, 2017 10:49 AM
Yeah the demonizing of the Koch brothers, so much so that anything associated with them is tainted by pure evil is a cornerstone of left thinking. That association is all that is needed as proof of any idea being bad.
As to whether Opposing Views books are used in schools, just watch the fights over history books in Texas being 'right' leaning. Well, compared to those used elsewhere they are, but that doesn't say much.
As to exploring how the other half thinks, being forbidden, it's hardly new. The left has been trying to get rid of Fox news from day one. Legislators adamantly refusing to watch the Gosnel videos, or read leaked e-mails is standard operating procedure. Not that the right doesn't do this too, to an extent,
Joe J at June 23, 2017 11:42 AM
"Just assigned reading material written by Cato institute-conservative propaganda machine funded by Koch bros."
And, did she actually read it to know, for a fact, that is was propaganda?
Yes, yes, I know she claims that she did. But, something tells me to be suspicious of her claims.
charles at June 24, 2017 5:21 AM
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