In what may come as a surprise to his critics, President Obama took time at a town hall event on college education in Iowa on Monday to criticize the politically correct culture infecting America’s universities.
While the president disagreed with presidential contender Ben Carson’s proposal to halt government aid to schools with liberal agendas, Obama did acknowledge the fact that colleges are routinely stifling conservative viewpoints. He said such treatment is unfair:
“Sometimes there are folks on college campuses who are liberal, and maybe even agree with me on a bunch of issues, who sometimes aren’t listening to the other side, and that’s a problem too,” Obama said. “I’ve heard some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative or they don’t want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African Americans or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women.”
Several examples come to mind. Carson himself was pressured to withdraw his invitation to speak at Johns Hopkins University, for students were ‘concerned’ about his comments on gay marriage. Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who served under President George W. Bush, also backed out of a commencement address at Rutgers University following protests about her involvement in the war in Iraq.
In light of such headlines, Obama expanded on the perils of political correctness:
“I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view. You know, I think you should be able to—anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with, you should have an argument with them. But you shouldn’t silence them by saying, ‘You can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.’ That’s not the way we learn either.”
In case you’re doubtful that these comments escaped the lips of our current president, you're not alone. But there's proof:
If this educational discrimination is even being noticed by our liberal commander-in-chief, perhaps it’s time for universities to start acting like the centers of learning and diversity they pledge to be.
Liberty University is a breath of fresh air in today's intolerant campus culture. Most students at the Christian school likely disagree with most of what 2016 Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders stands for, yet he was greeted warmly by students and patiently listened to during his speech Monday, sans protests.