Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘Yom Kippur at Columbia’
To borrow from Abigail Thernstrom: Columbia is an “island of oppression in a sea of freedom.” If they won’t let ROTC on campus, why should they get a penny of our hard-earned tax money? To borrow from Sir John Harrington (circa 1595): “Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
ARNOLD MECHANIC
Via nysun.com
I probably would not have commented about this, especially given the tendency for so-called institutions of higher learning to present ONLY one side of a viewpoint, if people such as Jim Gilchrist hadn’t recently been booed and catcalled off the stage.
This isn’t about intelligent discussion or even freedom of speech. It’s about the exposition of liberal ideals and causes, to the detriment of anyone or anything else. This viewpoint of mine has only been reinforced by the actions of college administrators and faculty.
JAMES MILLER
Via nysun.com
I was happy to read such an excellent commentary, and I thank you for it. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the article was the reference to the New York Times report in 1933 that related the opposition to the appearance of Nazi Hans Luther at Columbia Univeristy. That the premise of that dissension was “a nazi onslaught on culture…” is profound.
Although, even 70 years ago our culture was beginning to take a beating, there was still a consciousness that we, as Americans and Westerners, had a civilization to protect. In today’s relativistic miasma, it is no longer politically correct to assert this.
Yet this is the very reason why enemies to our culture, our way of life, should not be given the opportunity to share a public stage, lest it reveal itself as “an endorsement … placing their principles on the same level with other viewpoints.”
SUSAN GILL
Via nysun.com
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