For the millionth time in the past 15 or so years, I was accused of “watching Fox News” again today. In truth, I DON’T watch Fox news, other than an occasional repost of Tucker Carlson, but it has long seemed to me that most of the people on there are center-left, as I see it. Tucker Carlson is a moderate. He is simply representing, as well as he can–which in the event is ably–sanity. What is left of it, in any event, that he is trying to protect.
But more generally, left wingers–the screaming Blue Meeanies–are UNABLE to watch anything not intended for them. If you are trying to debate them, and post something from a non-approved source, they just condemn the source completely, and never even look at it.
I have long struggled with how to respond to this essentially childish response.
It occurred to me yesterday that what they are REALLY saying is “You are citing a source I would make disappear if I could. I would censor it. I would shut those people up.”
It would be reasonable to point this out, then ask them WHY such a sentiment is other than willfully ignorant, illiberal, and grotesquely intolerant, incurious and solipsistic.
Why CHOOSE to live in any echo chamber? Why not open the door once in a while to see what else is out there, who else is out there? And specifically, FACTS CAN BE DISCUSSED. If a conservative–or for that matter a left wing–website says something which is either demonstrably false, or demonstrably unproven or unlikely, then this is the sort of thing educated and well meaning people can debate productively.
Learning to digest information intelligently is one of the primary POINTS of education, particularly higher education; that, and to learn some sort of useful skill. Where the Liberal Arts are concerned, essentially the ONLY purpose is to build a broad minded, curious, generally informed personality which can and does perform well in a wide variety of environments. That they are failing in this task is obvious.