In a New York Times article of May 10, 2016, op-ed writer Nicholas Kristof, himself a “liberal,” inveighed against the narrow-mindedness and intolerance of many of his “progressive” peers and particularly the reign of terror holding sway at many U.S. Universities. It was a piece which took both courage and clarity of vision. Lauded by “conservatives,” it was of course seen as an act of betrayal by most on the Left. As reported by The Blaze, one who took exception to Kristof’s comments offered the following:
I don’t understand this thing called “liberal arrogance.” Is it arrogant to want to address issues with fact, critical thinking, an empirical viewpoint, one that privileges data and acquisition of real world experience over faith?
As usual on the Left, the insinuation that all “conservatives” are religious fundamentalists who believe the universe was created in six days. But the perspective defended here, one shared by a myriad of brilliant thinkers, is rooted in the tradition of Western Rationalism and has nothing to do with religious faith. And what of the claim by the individual cited above that “liberals” approach issues with “fact,” “critical thinking” and an “empirical viewpoint”? Does not the Egalitarianism informing their world-view demand that they close their eyes to the incredible biological diversity of the species; that they close their eyes to the demonstrable differences between the sexes; that they close their eyes to the obvious superiority of some world-views to others; that they close their eyes to the often poisonous impact of those world-views both on the cultures which they produce and the fates of those who live within their shadow; that they close their eyes to the fact of enduring human evil; indeed that they close their eyes to the evidence of History itself? “Progressives” are in fact pathologically averse to Reality, obsessed with repeating ad nauseam those politically correct half-truths born of their superficial and incredibly naive vision of the species, even as they tell themselves it is they who see life clearly, factually, scientifically.
The results of their stupidity are presently marauding through the streets of the Western World, their antics at one and the same time both ridiculous and incredibly dangerous.