[MD] Petitions and Politics

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

[Horse to Platt]
OK - I had a look so we can add another word to the group - innuendo. That makes
4 so far - hearsay, tittle-tattle, mutterings and innuendo. But as I suspected,
bugger all in the way of anything that resembles evidence. So my assertion
regarding evidence still stands. Is this really what constitutes evidence in
the USA or is it just you?

[Arlo]
It's just him.

[Horse to Platt]
If it is then that could explain why you have so many in jail. Take a few
photo's, start a whispering campaign, fire up a few blogsites and hey-presto -
Guilty as charged m'lud!

[Arlo]
Working in the Academy for years, I have seen many political stances (rightist
and leftist, to use such a simplistic dichotomy) taken and defended in
rational, well articulated ways. What we've seen here are the ramifications of
those weaned on radio talk-show propaganda tactics who expect (nay, demand!)
that papers presenting a week-after rehash of the Limbaugh show be accepted as
academic. When they are not (and you see this coming), they play "victim to
political bias".

The "path of least effort", put forth in the literalization of religion, and
subsequently politics, is also being advanced by those who would replace
research and the responsibility of scholarship with simply parroting any old
propagandistic soundbite from their daily infusion of radio dribble.

The goal is to turn the "Chuch of Reason" into yet another fundamentalist
megachurch, which bows before the supremecy of Party Ideology. Those of us who
work in the Academy are accutely aware that there are those who both
uncritically ACCEPT as well as those who uncritically REJECT American static
social patterns. The Academy, as we know, remains open to thoughtful
consideration of all points, but always demanding a cerain level of critical
approach, and rejects (and should reject!) all uncritical voices of support and
opposition.

Those mimicking the monologic techniques of radio pundits, whether "leftist" or
"rightist", will fail in the Academy. And it has nothing to do with them being
"victims" of some great educational conspiracy, as they cry and bemoan. It has
to do with the Academy having higher standards of scholarship than radio
programs, whose sole goal is to disseminate propaganda and distort all
dialogues to support the Party.

Arlo