Another Republican state house, another bill scoring cheap political points by crying foul against liberal professors. At least this one does not even feign policy knowledge or responsibility.
A bill introduced in the General Assembly calls for the Board of Governors to ensure that the experiences of students in the entire UNC system achieve “ideological balance.” Okay, Einstein, barring the fact that this kicks the responsibility completely to the BOG without a single recommendation of how to achieve that, you do not even define your terms. Which ideologies would you like to be in balance? What is your definition of ideology? What are the grounds for complaint or harm if a student feels that ideologies are not in balance? These technicalities are of course all beside the point.
Basically this public servant feels their public should never have their kids exposed to one page of The Communist Manifesto without an equal number of pages assigned from Atlas Shrugged. This bill operates on the premise that all ideologies (in this particular case, probably summarized in the philosophical position me or not me) have had equally influential weight and historical durability. Take that premise away and Marx and Rand, for better and worse, are not even close. But let’s entertain this idiocy for a moment.
Hey sir, against the capitalist arguments of von Mises, Smith and Friedman, we can put the arguments of that guy whose death was just celebrated on Good Friday. You know, the one who said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven. And that ideology by all accounts should, if Western Civ is re-required, be the honking concert speaker to your puny Beats headphones advocating free markets.
You do it to yourself, just you, and that’s why it really hurts (sang Thom Yorke). Rand herself in Atlas Shrugged warned capitalists that they gave up philosophy at their peril. The real thinkers, even to her, always win the hearts and minds, if not the money, of the people. Money is always vulnerable to taking. Hearts and minds less so.
We do not deny the vitality of conservative thinkers. We celebrate the best of them. We in fact need more of them to counter the endless lame self-congratulatory political ranting of the worst leftist (and too often hostile) professors and TAs.
And here is where the balance comes in. We are not infants. We get the bias, and it is most certainly there. We, as Tar Heels, would not be here if we could not think through it.
Hey, conservatives: You want to set the terms of the debate? Get in the ring. Instead of hustling off to a B-school job, or a Republican political consultancy or appealing to know-nothing GA members, live on student loans and ramen for the time it takes to get a PhD and have your way with us dopey snowflakes. Invite socialists to talk at the B-school. Get into student policy positions where you can stop idiot professors saying that they are almost all liberal, but conservative students are welcome for their “interesting” views.
Civil democracy in this town, county, state and nation depends on each side keeping the other honest. UNC needs more organically grown conservatives, not idiots without qualifications and learning forced on us. We welcome all comers.
