Bloomberg's Inspiring Speech Calling For Freedom Of Thought And Speech At Universities
An excerpt, via the WaPo's Valerie Strauss:
Ideas can be dangerous. They can change society. They can upend traditions. They can start revolutions. That's why throughout history, those in authority have tried to repress ideas that threaten their power, their religion, their ideology, or their reelection chances."That was true for Socrates and Galileo, it was true for Nelson Mandela and Václav Havel, and it has been true for Ai Wei Wei, Pussy Riot, and the kids who made the 'Happy' video in Iran.
"Repressing free expression is a natural human weakness, and it is up to us to fight it at every turn. Intolerance of ideas - whether liberal or conservative - is antithetical to individual rights and free societies, and it is no less antithetical to great universities and first-rate scholarship.
"There is an idea floating around college campuses - including here at Harvard - that scholars should be funded only if their work conforms to a particular view of justice. There's a word for that idea: censorship. And it is just a modern-day form of McCarthyism.
"Think about the irony: In the 1950s, the right wing was attempting to repress left wing ideas. Today, on many college campuses, it is liberals trying to repress conservative ideas, even as conservative faculty members are at risk of becoming an endangered species. And perhaps nowhere is that more true than here in the Ivy League.
"In the 2012 presidential race, according to Federal Election Commission data, 96 percent of all campaign contributions from Ivy League faculty and employees went to Barack Obama.
"Ninety-six percent. There was more disagreement among the old Soviet Politburo than there is among Ivy League donors.
"That statistic should give us pause - and I say that as someone who endorsed President Obama for reelection - because let me tell you, neither party has a monopoly on truth or God on its side.
"When 96 percent of Ivy League donors prefer one candidate to another, you have to wonder whether students are being exposed to the diversity of views that a great university should offer.
"Diversity of gender, ethnicity, and orientation is important. But a university cannot be great if its faculty is politically homogenous. In fact, the whole purpose of granting tenure to professors is to ensure that they feel free to conduct research on ideas that run afoul of university politics and societal norms.
"When tenure was created, it mostly protected liberals whose ideas ran up against conservative norms.
"Today, if tenure is going to continue to exist, it must also protect conservatives whose ideas run up against liberal norms. Otherwise, university research - and the professors who conduct it - will lose credibility.
"Great universities must not become predictably partisan. And a liberal arts education must not be an education in the art of liberalism.
"The role of universities is not to promote an ideology. It is to provide scholars and students with a neutral forum for researching and debating issues - without tipping the scales in one direction, or repressing unpopular views.
"Requiring scholars - and commencement speakers, for that matter - to conform to certain political standards undermines the whole purpose of a university.
via @AdamKissel
It's depressing to see what a rich intelligent and accomplished fellow like Bloomberg thinks of the electorate.
He could actually do the country a huge favor by running as the Democrat he is. But this re-branding as a libertarian is beyond insulting. It's gauche.
phunctor at June 1, 2014 9:50 PM
Bloomberg ignores the fact that a strong consensus may indicate that the majority are backing the correct view and diversity would require some people to adopt the weak position. Lousy concept when facts, not opinions, are in play.
Dave Gentile at June 2, 2014 3:33 AM
It's great that Bloomberg says he's for free thought and speech. But, as they say, actions speak louder than words. Witness his idiotic ban on sugared beverages of more than 16 ounces when mayor, for instance. He can "re-brand" as a libertarian all he wants, but those of us who have paid attention know an authoritarian when we see one.
Anyway, what good is free speech when policy preferred by elites like Bloomberg "for our own good", however unpopular, is crammed down our throats anyway?
cpabroker at June 2, 2014 3:58 AM
It's great that Bloomberg says he's for free thought and speech. But, as they say, actions speak louder than words. Witness his idiotic ban on sugared beverages of more than 16 ounces when mayor, for instance.
People are not always consistent. I was very much against Bloomberg's nannying as mayor of New York. But I try hard to not be one of those people who takes sides and never listens to what those on them are saying. Good speech from Bloomberg here.
Amy Alkon at June 2, 2014 5:44 AM
Good speech from Bloomberg here.
Yeah, it's a very good speech, but I too immediately thought "and then he ended by calling for a ban on hamburgers." I'm glad he gave those students something to think about but he is going to be living down his obnoxious paternalism for the rest of his career.
Astra at June 2, 2014 6:24 AM
Yeah, it's a very good speech, but I too immediately thought "and then he ended by calling for a ban on hamburgers." I'm glad he gave those students something to think about but he is going to be living down his obnoxious paternalism for the rest of his career.
Posted by: Astra at June 2, 2014 6:24 AM
Well all the elite enlightened glitterati like Bloomberg, intuitively know what it good and just.
It is all of us obnoxious serfs who need to be told what to do.
For our own good, of course, because guns are just bad, and so are salt, sugar, red meat, and fossil fuels.
Isab at June 2, 2014 6:50 AM
The next time a group of students successfully manage to keep an invited commencement speaker from speaking, I'd like to see the college administration send the following e mail:
"To all graduating seniors: Commencement exercises are cancelled. You will receive your degree in the mail. And my farewell message to you is this...be tolerant."
Nick at June 2, 2014 9:09 AM
I admire the tang of Phunctor's garlic:
> But this re-branding as a libertarian is
> beyond insulting. It's gauche.
> Posted by: phunctor at June 1, 2014 9:50 PM
☑
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at June 2, 2014 9:40 AM
I'd rather see:
"To all graduating seniors: Commencement exercises will go on as planned with the invited speaker. You can show up and be civil or you can stay away. We invite speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a wide variety of viewpoints. You may not agree with some of them. Get over it."
Conan the Grammarian at June 2, 2014 10:11 AM
Conan, I might be tempted to do that too. But I'm guessing no university would stick its neck out that far, because (1) a lot of the faculty and administration is with the anti-free-speech students, and (2) if you have a riot at a commencement ceremony and the police have to bust it up, that's bad optics. For weeks after, you'd have news media running interviews with parents who are irate that little Johnny didn't get to be handed his diploma and do something stupid on stage.
Cousin Dave at June 2, 2014 11:41 AM
Anybuddy remember the Pentium bug?
It's like that. Intel CEO Andy Grove's resistance to gratuitous replacement of the processors was entirely rational from an engineering standpoint. The problem was truly, truly not that big a deal.
But intel had just begun trying to differentiate their product to consumer markets through playful advertising. And you can't risk annoyance to American consumers — not in the marketplace, and certainly not in the courts. They'd chosen to take their business in the direction of dancers in colorful manufacturing "bunny suits," not floating-point division.
So it is with Higher Ed. Too many people —teachers and administrators and government bureaucrats and financiers and support industries— have come to rely on the uninterrupted stream of students through colleges and universities.
All of these people have already chosen a direction for their work... And they're not interested in young minds. It's far too late to pretend the sector is concerned with equipping students with clarity, or fortitude, or difficult challenges.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at June 2, 2014 3:31 PM
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