Unworthy

Chris Stirewalt comments on the current state of American politics with specific emphasis on academia and the Left's insistence that speakers who oppose their views be barred from speaking at many universities.* In fact, in some instances, leftist "anti-fascists" who are actually totalitarian thugs, have threatened violence should an opposing speaker be allowed to present his or her views. From Stirewalt's comments:

Let’s start with that basic stipulation. America is not just better than its politics; its politics is actually unworthy of a republic so magnificent.

This bears mentioning just now because while this concept is perfectly obvious, it is also apparently easily forgotten – as is evidenced by the foolish fashion in which large numbers of our countrymen are conducting themselves.

The very fact that there is a conversation taking place about the rights of people to express even the vilest ideas should be terrifying to people who understand that politics should be subservient to liberty. Our Constitution says that the government may not prohibit you from speaking, but our civilization tells you that being offended may be a necessary component of that larger freedom.

The current controversy surrounds what could charitably be called the failed American higher education system and the unwillingness of students and faculty members to tolerate opposing views.

Mostly the conflict is cast as a left/right issue in which liberal “snowflakes” are refusing to allow putative conservatives from speaking on campus. This simplistic definition favors the interest of both sides in these little dramas. Opponents of free expression can style themselves as anti-fascist and provocateurs on the right can pretend they’re being persecuted for their views rather than their provocations.

But this isn’t about politics. It is about the cancer that is growing within our country: ignorance.

It is undoubtedly about ignorance, but it's also about moral preening and the false certitude that the Leftist ideology is the only acceptable path. Who ordained the leftist members of the media, of academia, of the entertainment industry, and of the arts as the final arbiters of what is just and right? Who made the judgement that opposing views are ignorant, or racist or bigoted or represent any of the many "isms" that the Left likes to hurl at its opponents? The answer is the Left itself, making their selective outrage at opposing views much like a child's tantrum, but far more dangerous.

The ignorance that Stirewalt mentions is about a fundamental lack of historical knowledge, a willful disregard of the failure of the socialist experiment in places like the Soviet Union, in North Korea, in Cuba, and recently in Venezuela. And it represents the victory of fantasy thinking over reality.

Finally, there's a certain viscousness to all of this. The anger that has fueled the Left since the sound defeat of a Democratic candidate is nothing less than astounding. The excuses—"Russian collusion, James Comey, misogyny, "winning the popular vote," blah, blah, and blah" is nothing short of ridiculous. The outrage may be real, but that doesn't mean it's justified.

In fact, this recent behavior is truly "unworthy" of the great country that provides every outraged member of the Left with the freedom of expression that enables them to express their outrage and viciousness.

FOOTNOTE:
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* Jeremy Peters of the decidedly left-wing New York Times writes:

...across the country, conservatives like [Ann Coulter] are eagerly throwing themselves into volatile situations like the one in Berkeley, emboldened by a backlash over what many Americans see as excessive political correctness, a president who has gleefully taken up their fight, and liberals they accuse of trying to censor any idea they disagree with.

A number of Twitter responses highlight the utter hypocrisy of Peters' suggestion that conservative speakers are purposely putting themselves into "volatile situations" with the long outdated and misogynistic notion that women in provocative clothing are inviting rape.