A Forum for Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy

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A FORUM FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND VIGOROUS DEBATE, CORNERSTONES OF DEMOCRACY
[For the journal--guidelines, focus, etc.--go to www.theamericandissident.org. If you have questions, please contact me at todslone@hotmail.com. Comments are NOT moderated (i.e., CENSORED)!]
Encouraged censorship and self-censorship seem to have become popular in America today. Those who censor others, not just self, tend to favor the term "moderate," as opposed to "censor" and "moderation" to "censorship." But that doesn't change what they do. They still act as Little Caesars or Big Brother protectors of the thin-skinned. Democracy, however, demands a tough populace, not so easily offended. On this blog, and to buck the trend of censorship, banning, and ostracizing, comments are NEVER "moderated." Rarely (almost NEVER) do the targets of these blog entries respond in an effort to defend themselves with cogent counter-argumentation. This blog is testimony to how little academics, poets, critics, newspaper editors, cartoonists, political hacks, cultural council apparatchiks, librarians et al appreciate VIGOROUS DEBATE, cornerstone of democracy. Clearly, far too many of them could likely prosper just fine in places like communist China and Cuba or Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Russia, not to mention Sweden, England, and Austria.
ISSUE #47 PUBLISHED MAY 2024. NOW SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR ISSUE #48.

More P. Maudit cartoons (and essays) at Global Free Press: http://www.globalfreepress.org
Showing posts with label Cynthia Scheinberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cynthia Scheinberg. Show all posts

Thursday, May 21, 2009

An Experiment in Democracy: Mills College

Truly men hate the truth; they’d liefer meet a tiger on the road. Therefore the poets honey their truth with lying...
—Robinson Jeffers

From: George Slone To: five80split@gmail.com; cyns@mills.edu; moses@mills.edu; dcady@mills.edu; amach@mills.edu; xango@mills.edu; jchen@mills.edu; yli@mills.edu; amance@mills.edu; mehta@mills.edu; cnixon@mills.edu; pollock@mills.edu; sratclif@mills.edu; kreiss@mills.edu; ktsaxton@mills.edu; rsaxton@mills.edu; jspahr@mills.edu; toms@mills.edu; kwalk@mills.eduSent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:38:31 AMSubject: Mills College English Dept.


Dear English Department faculty and students, Mills College:
An anonymous student on your website mentions how you have helped her think out of her box. (www.mills.edu/academics/faculty/eng/index_grad_core.php). Perhaps you ought not to be encouraging anonymity? In any case, will you allow me to help you think out of yours? Please check out and comment on the two cartoons I sketched on your English Department and literary journal, 580 Split (http://wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com/).

This email communication is part of an on-going experiment on testing the waters of democracy in academe. Are those waters murky? Sadly, evidence supports that hypothesis (i.e., vigorous debate is the cornerstone of democracy, but not of academe). Please do respond. Your response will counter the growing evidence. Other institutions tested include the University of Massachusetts (all campuses), Tufts University, and Middlebury College (my alma mater).
Sincerely,

G. Tod Slone, Founding Editor, 1998
The American Dissident, a Journal of Literature, Democracy & Dissidence
A 501 c3 nonprofit organization providing a unique forum for vigorous debate, cornerstone of democracy
www.theamericandissident.org
1837 Main St.
Concord, MA 01742
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