University of Wisconsin instructor Kevin Barrett believes the U.S. government arranged the Sept. 11 attacks to start a war between the Christian and Muslim worlds. Following a public outcry sparked by his appearance on a conservative talk radio show and UW's decision to uphold his employment, 61 state representatives have demanded he be fired.
Their letter is an insult to our university.
Representatives pushing for Barrett's dismissal include Rep. Steven Nass, R-Whitewater, and Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Mark Green. They rightfully find his evidence of a 9/11 conspiracy insubstantial and flimsy.
However objectionable Messrs. Green and Nass find Barrett's claims, they should believe his charges will be defeated in the marketplace of ideas.
"That continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found," should be more than part of UW's motto, it should be an ideal encouraging us to challenge what we are taught and to understand the vastly diverse viewpoints we will encounter in an increasingly globalized world.
But Green, Nass and the other co-signers are not interested in the marketplace of ideas or providing a well-rounded experience to students. Instead, they see public schools only as a medium to promote their own values.
From casting votes which could have devastated UW's nationally recognized stem-cell research program to supporting extensive budget cuts to proposing massive administrative pay cuts to telling UW Provost Patrick Farrell who deserves to teach Religious Studies 370, an irrational, politically motivated contempt for UW has been brewing in the Republican-dominated state Legislature for some time.
Even more distressing is that Gov. Jim Doyle has also called for Barrett's dismissal. Doyle claims it is not based on Barrett's political belief but instead on a letter Barrett sent to Doyle's office suggesting that anyone with views out of the mainstream would not be allowed to teach at UW. While Mr. Doyle can be credited with inventing a middle ground, his refusal to stand up to forces who demand our curriculum be dictated by what is politically fashionable is a failure to his alma mater.
Thankfully, Farrell, along with College of Letters and Science Dean Gary Sandefur and Languages and Cultures of Asia Department Chair Ellen Rafferty, are taking a vital stand for UW and are allowing Barrett to teach his course.
While Green claims he is trying to protect taxpayers from paying for radical speech, one must wonder how far this policy might extend if we accept it now.
Would UW ban professors who believe former President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not do everything in his power to prevent Pearl Harbor? How about those who don't believe Gary Webb, the author who exposed CIA drug trafficking, committed suicide with two shots to the head? We certainly wouldn't want our tax dollars going to those who espouse belief in communism, socialism or a North American super state.
Of course, none of the 42 percent of Americans who believe the 9/11 commission was a fraud would be eligible. After all, the taxpayers spent good money on that.
The fundamental question is whether public schools should receive second-class status by being privy to only the discourse filtered by what whoever in power determines to be mainstream. I believe we have as much of a right as private school students do to receive a diverse learning experience that goes beyond the conventional American perspective.
How can we hope to defeat the threats of terrorism and exploitive government power mongers in the long run if we are afraid to expose our best and brightest to an extreme point of view? Is it not hypocritical to demand other nations allow freedom of speech while our government takes pains to ensure dissent will never reach the ears of our students? Finally, what kind of message are we sending about our own interpretation of history if we believe it can be threatened by a university instructor?
UW has a message for Mark Green, Steven Nass and the rest of the co-signers: we are not impressionable fools because we have chosen to attend a public institution, so stop insulting our intelligence with academic censorship. Furthermore, the fact that the public funds us does not mean every aspect of our curriculum is subject to approval by the state Assembly.
UW must serve the public interest by broadening the perspectives of students from Wisconsin, the Midwest and around the country. Save your ineffectual political, religious and economic pandering, as well as unimaginative leadership, for the statehouse. Keep it out of our university.
Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.
