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I would be buried on campus if they had a plot. I've been in the university system for 22 years, so to me it is my life.

The flags are divisive and several students and faculty have pointed this out. It is not a self-fulfilling prophesy. Rather, it is a case in which people who love the university are legitimately upset.

I don't think people are turning anti-American, at least at UCF I don't see that. What I do see is people who are sick of being pushed around by what they perceive as a radical right-wing coup that took over the government and is pushing revolutionary policies through at a furious pace, destroying
everything they love about America -- tolerance, the rule of law, justice, truth, compassion, civil discourse, etc. They see a group of people like ROCK who are willing to support these radical policies by any means necessary, just as the Brown Shirts supported Hitler early on in his regime by beating up and intimidating opponents, including students and professors with whom they disagreed.

I see nothing positive coming out of the polarization on campuses these days, except perhaps for some new organizations like the Progressive Faculty Federation (of which I am a founding member) which are trying to act primarily to defend ourselves against attacks like Shannon Burke's.

I support academic freedom fully and you would be welcome to present all of your views in my classes. I would not "jump on you" for expressing them. I would ask you to support your views with reasoned arguments.

Barry

"The flags are divisive and several students and faculty have pointed this out."

If the flag is divisive, it may be more of a cultural issue (as in decline of) than anything else. Republicans and Democrats have died for the ideals our flag supposedly represents, yet it is most common today that it is those on the left that villify the flag.

"What I do see is people who are sick of being pushed around by what they perceive as a radical right-wing coup that took over the government and is pushing revolutionary policies through at a furious pace, destroying everything they love about America -- tolerance, the rule of law, justice, truth, compassion, civil discourse, etc."

Please cite examples of each of the above. I was not aware of any right-wing coup or any revolutionary policies of said coup.

My views may or may not be supportable in your definition since you use the caveat of "reasoned arguments". I feel that I am not emotional about the issue, but I find it amusing when people get offended about our national symbol.

If your students want exposure to different political philosophies than those that are on the current approved list within academia, why not mention Freerepublic as a place for them to do some research?