Relativists, beware.
The professors who tell you that “Everything is relative” probably fail to relate how destructive an idea that is. In an interview with Hillsdale College’s Imprimis magazine, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas noted “the connection between relativism, nihilism, and Naziism.”
“The common idea that you can do whatever you want to do, because truth and morality are relative, leads to the idea that if you are powerful enough, you can kill people because of their race or faith,” Justice Thomas explains. “So ask your relativist friends sometime: What is to keep me from getting a gang of people together and beating the hell out of you because I think you deserve to be beaten?”
Although this theory of relativity circulates widely among so-called elites, Justice Thomas points out that the idea stems from a shortage, not a surplus, of education. “Too many people think that life and liberty are about their frivolous pleasures,” the Justice says. “There is more to life.”
“And again, largely what relativism reflects is a lack of learning.” He could have added that this knowledge deficit is particularly acute among people with many initials after their names.
Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.
