Someone
posted a story on Facebook about the enormous fees for insurance, security, etc
that many universities are now charging conservative speakers due the all too
often violent response from the far left. They angrily commented how this was
an abridgment of free speech. I agree
and find it despicable. But the same thing was done to anti Viet Nam War
speakers and demonstrators in the 1960’s. Those in power attempt to inhibit
opposition from others and nullify a perceived potential threat. I suspect, sadly, that this represents part
of human nature and has probably occurred since Adam and Eve left the Garden of
Eden.
I
have said repeatedly on this blog and on Facebook that I find many of those
commenting naïve or dangerously naïve.
Someone once remarked that they were insulted when I called them
ignorant. If I had wanted to insult someone I would said so in bolder terms,
but I was simply making an honest comment about their apparent ignorance on the
discussed subject. Probably some people
see me as partisan while others see me as insightful. Whatever the final
verdict, that decision doesn’t rest with me.
Sloppy
speech seems more common today. Perhaps it’s because we write so much more now
given our instant communications technologies. I’ve even heard Obama confuse middle income and middle class. Income is
the money you make; class is how you spend it. Someone would be considered
middle class because they collect art, read a lot of books and may have a
bachelor’s or master’s degree; qualities separate from their income or net
worth. Naiveté is fed by imprecise, sloppy speech.
Postscript:
I have posted twice about the potential benefits to Amador County becoming involved
with the proposed Sacramento Multi Modal Terminal adjacent to Amtrak. Happily, the responsible local parties are now
plugged into that process. But did I advocate this because I am a bleeding
heart green liberal living in fear of global warming, or because I am a staunch
conservative trying to increase ridership/reduce subsidies and build a social
welfare system that helps people help themselves rather than encourages
dependency? Or did I do this because I am a concerned, participatory citizen
with specialized expertise? Sometimes I feel like I belong to the most
obscure corner of political opinion: the Common Sense Party.
Copyright
2017, Mark L. Bennett
