Dan Walters: Hypocrisy thriving in academe

Southern California political, media and legal circles have been in a dither over the selection of liberal law professor Erwin Chemerinsky as dean of UC Irvine's new law school, his de-selection after protests by conservative groups and his re-selection on Monday.

Setting aside the demonstrable fact that California needs another public law school like it needs another drought, it has been an unseemly situation at best, raising all sorts of questions about academic freedom.

Conservatives complained that Chemerinsky's initial hiring by UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake was an affront, citing his years of legal and political activism on the left. Even Ronald George, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, became entangled in the uproar, with anti-Chemerinsky forces citing George's pointed criticism of his treatise on death penalty law.

Conservative Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who had clashed with Chemerinsky in the past, sent an e-mail to Drake that, his spokesman said, "expressed his dismay with the choice for the dean of the law school and suggested that this was the wrong decision and it should be changed."

Drake then canceled the appointment but insisted -- to wide disbelief -- that it had nothing to do with the backlash. "His exact words were, 'You've proven too politically controversial for this to work,' " Chemerinsky told the New York Times.

Predictably, there was a counter-backlash of pro-Chemerinsky sentiment. Hundreds of UC Irvine professors and students signed an open letter to Drake last Friday demanding a reversal of the decision. "You have failed to defend the integrity of the university, its recruitment process and the sanctity of academic freedom," the letter said.

...As the counter-pressure mounted Friday, Drake met with Chemerinsky. On Monday, they jointly announced that Chemerinsky will come to Irvine after all.

"You have failed to defend the integrity of the university, its recruitment process and the sanctity of academic freedom," the letter said.

Allow me to translate: You have failed to defer to our privilege to use the university as we please, to advance our fascist agenda, pay any incompetent leftist bent upon destroying America an outrageous salary, and degrade academic standards without accountability, while crushing any conservative with the temerity to even think to disagree, all in the name of "academic freedom."

Remember when American educational systems were the envy of the world? Remember when the rest of the world marvelled at the free exchange of ideas, the unlimited freedom of inquiry and expression of opinions and investigation of the previously unexplored? How it thrilled the world that the more students questioned the teachings and opinions of their professors and of other students, the more it delighted the professors? When American academic institutions were open to new ideas?

Who could have imagined that American academic institutions would descend into restrictive, uniformed dogma, insisting on closed minds? That in so short a time they would become indoctrination centers? That the free exchange of ideas, freedom of inquiry and expression of opinions and investigation of the unexplored, and especially the questioning of accepted dogma would be prohibited?

Who could have imagined that openmindedness would yield to closed minds?

Who could have imagined that in an Orwellian reversal liberalism would become its opposite?

Who could have imagined that in an Orwellian reversal liberalism would become its opposite?

Orwell did. Here is a little quote written in 1938 from Homage to Catalonia:

In reality, it was the Communists above all others who prevented revolution in Spain. Later, when the Right Wing forces were in full control, the Communists showed themselves willing to go a great deal further than the Liberals in hunting down revolutionary leaders.
[Snip]
Between the Communists and those who claim to stand to the Left of them there is a real difference. The Communists hold that Fascism can be beaten by alliance with sections of the capitalist class (the Popular Front); their opponents hold that this maneuver simply gives Fascism new breeding-grounds. The question has got to be settled; to make the wrong decision may be to land ourselves in for centuries of semi-slavery.

Orwell knew that these people claiming to be communists were in fact fascists, in both ideology and method, which is why he wrote Animal Farm.

Chemerinsky might be a nice guy....I don't know....but it's impossible for me to listen to his whiney, pratish, pseudo legal-intelligencia idiocy whenever Hewitt has him on his show.

I just turn it off. The guy's an idiot.

Although, one of the funniest things I ever heard on radio was Chemerinsky arguing with the right-wing legal guy (whatever his name is) on Hughs show. It was the first time I'd ever heard Chemerinsky and the guy he was arguing with read a quote that Chemerinsky stated was wrong and blah blah blah.

The right-wing guy let Chemerinsky run with it for a minute before revealing the name of the person who wrote the "total wrong" quote: Erwin Chemerinsky.

Chemerinsky didn't remember having written it some 7 years before.

I laughed so hard I was almost crying.

Very astute, Carry.

Nothing is more subversive than truth.

Nothing is more threatening to those locked in a paradigm or trapped in illusion.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.