http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-092801dissent.story
reasonably good article in the la times about dissent in the current political climate features this curious quote from hitchens calling for "debates and vigorous exchanges."
>> [hitchens] he worries that what he sees as a prevailing
"pseudo-unity"
>> will choke off the spirit of dissenting individualism crucial to
>> defeating what he and Rieff term "Islamic fascism." According to
>> Hitchens, "this is a war on civil society, so it is critical that
>> there be debates and vigorous exchanges.
>> What one wants is the spirit of initiative shown by those
>> courageous passengers over Pennsylvania, who disobeyed every FAA
>> regulation about staying buckled in their seats and went down
>> fighting. Without that spirit, what we will end up with is
>> capitulation abroad and authoritarianism at home,
>> which is the worst combination imaginable."
also this ridiculous swipe at "politically correct" education by some guy named david rieff:
>> The campuses, once citadels of opposition to military action,
generally
>> are quiet, in part, said author and commentator David Rieff, because
this
>> generation of students is hamstrung by the "politically correct"
education
>> it has received since kindergarten. "The nice kids have been taught
that
>> all differences are to be celebrated," said Rieff, currently a
visiting
>> professor at UC Berkeley, "and they're in full cognitive meltdown.
Their
>> homeroom teachers and guidance counselors never told them that there
are
>> people in the world who mean them harm."
but really, the article as a whole is pretty good