Educational Freedom?
Just read this by Kathy Kinsley over at “On the Third Hand”. I’ve been following the story about UNC having incoming freshmen read a book about Islam.
You know, I’m a UNC grad and this is my take on the whole thing. Seems like all the PC folk over there at UNC are up in arms about “educational freedom”, but is it educational freedom to FORCE incoming students to read a book about Islam? If I’m a student coming into the University, I am there to study what I WANT to study, not what you think would be good for me to study. That’s MY educational freedom. I don’t want or need a bunch of academics that live in a sheltered campus world to tell me what it’s important for me to study or what it’s important for me to know, especially the PC crowd at a liberal university like UNC. I spent the better part of 8 years on that campus, graduating with an English degree. I had it worse than most. It’s practically required to take a look at every piece of literature from a feminist perspective, or a Marxist perspective, or from a gay perspective. Political Correctness is rampant on campus and it saturates everything that goes on. It’s like trying to legislate morality. You need to consider everyone’s point of view in everything and be sensitive to everyone’s point of view and not hurt anyone’s feelings. What a load of crap. This is the kind of thinking that leads a murderer to blame his or her crime on “society”. “It’s not my fault. I am what society made me.” Bullshit.
The point is, I wouldn’t want some PC ex-hippie telling me or my kid that I have to read this book on Islam. I think it is the height of hypocrisy to cry educational freedom and then force feed incoming students with a book about a particular religion, gender or political viewpoint. Get over yourselves and join the real world.
And it might surprise you, but I consider myself a liberal! I must be getting old. Geez.
