One of the more attractive features of the USA is the great institutions of higher learning that flourish all over the USA. It can be said that the USA has the world's best Universities and the largest number of Nobel Prize winners and a tradition of fearless criticism. The faculty teaching in the Universities are undoubtedly the most talented and on the whole involved in their research and teaching. A open society that respects dissent is cultivated in the classrooms and lecture halls. Unfortunately, this great tradition of dissent and criticism is being undermined by as neo con vigellante group calling itself the CAMPUS WATCH. It is essentially a group that keeps watch on liberal opinion and harasses those who take an overly critical posture. At the risk of offending some liberals, I must say in all honesty that the Right wing has more tolerance for dissent than the Liberals who usually wrap themselves in a holier than thou attitude with patronising disdain for those who disagree ith them. Afterall we know better, seems to be their refrain. In spite of this caveat, the ffact must be faced square and fair:Campus Watch is going too far.
It is said that activists of Campus Watch repot back on the opinions expressed by Professors during calss room interaction. This to my mind is not acceptable. One can disagree with the Professor on any number of issues, but that should remain confined to the class room. Making political capital out of academic opinion seems to be an unfortuante development. This is all the more unfortunate since the American tradition has all along been one of openess and fair criticsm. I hasten to add that the liberal have also used coerion against those who went agasinst their ideological position. But two wrongs do not make a right.
The war in Iraq and the policy of the US with regard to the Palestine question has been most frequently cited as reasons for the decline of academic freedom in US Universities. For example, a professor at Harvard University, John Mearscheimer rote an acaxdemic analysis of the role of the Israeli lobby in the formulation of US policy toward Israel. The Campus Watch made it impossible for this scholar to teach and research peacefully. In another case a professor from Yale University Juan Cole was denied tenure because of the opinion expressed in his resarch monograph. Professor Cole is an expert on the Middle East and a well known authority on Shiaa Islam. He happens to question the wisdom of the Bush line on Iraq and for this he has been sent out of the University.
I can give many more instances of such intolerant behavior. One can say that it was the liberals in their heyday who used such techniques to harass right wing faculty. And that is true. During my stay in an American Univeristy I have seen how the liberals used to hatrass and humiliate a senior faculty who was essntially a decent right winger. Yet, I must add that things are going too far. Campus Watch is essentally making the US universities intolerant and squelching dissent and that is not democratic.