Topic: Newsmax
Ronald Kessler uses his May 17 Newsmax column to launch an anti-intellectual screed against colleges:
College catalogs are as enticing as brochures for shiny new cars. They promise intellectual stimulation, critical thinking, and preparation for a rewarding life. But like come-ons for underwater land, the claims of liberal arts colleges are bogus.
Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato began the liberal arts tradition of learning in ancient Greece. They advocated systematic reflection and a search for truth. The term liberal arts itself comes from the Latin word liber, meaning free.
Today, colleges impose rigid conformity. Rather than encouraging students to find the truth for themselves, they propagandize, usually with a far-left cast. Rather than encouraging open-mindedness, they promote stereotypical thinking and adherence to preconceptions and dogma.
In short, a college education — at roughly $40,000 a year — has become a consumer fraud.
Kessler goes on to name all the fabulously successful people who dropped out of college -- including himself. Then he cites the sole piece of evidence he provides in his article to support his screed: an author and college instruction sorting first ladies into three categories. All she's doing is "postulating a theory and shoe-horning reality into it" because "placing labels on people focuses attention on apparent similarities while shifting attention away from differences."
But then, it's back to whining:
At least 90 percent of college professors are registered Democrats. That would not be a problem if they honestly sought to open students’ minds rather than brainwashing them.
While exceptional professors still exist, portraying Republicans as evil, Americans as Nazis, and capitalism as a way to subjugate minorities is the norm in too many college classes. Protected by tenure, professors replicate themselves, blackballing teachers who do not have ultra-liberal views.
Isn't Kessler making the same baseless generalizationsabout college professors that he's complaining about professors making? He's just disproven his entire column.
Not that Kessler's intended audience will notice that contradiction -- NewsBusters is promoting it as an "open thread" discussion.
