We should start numbering the multitude of academic ironies we cover. Here’s the latest: Those most willing to heap the “fascist” label on their foes, may be most guilty of it.
The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas recently interviewed Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Dr. Everett Piper and asked about the growing intolerance and protests on college campuses, which he called “ideological fascism.” He strongly believed that ideas have consequences: good ideas lead to good culture, behavior and community. Bad ideas do the opposite, he noted. “What we’re seeing in the academy today,” said Piper, “at the university and college campus across the land is not academic freedom. It is ideological fascism.” He continued, “You must submit, you must comply, you must be one of us, you must agree, and if you don’t, we will silence you, we will expel you.” Piper lamented, “There is no intelligence allowed [on college campuses]…You’ll be expelled if you disagree.” He added:
“In fact, disagreement has become synonymous with hate. You can’t have a robust conversation of ideas any longer in these places and here’s why: it’s because we’ve abandoned the idea and concept of truth being the judge of the debate.”
What set him apart, Piper pointed out, was, “I don’t want you being the judge of the debate, I want truth to be the judge.” Adding to that, Piper said, “That’s the irony of the conservative Christian community today.” He continued, “As a conservationist, as a conservative, I’m grabbing a hold and conserving and preserving and defending the time-tested truths of God as the context of the debate rather than trusting politics or power to shut it down.” There is much irony in the debate on college campuses, he said, “It is the irony of the day that the conservative is really the classical liberal.” Piper believed, “The conservative is the classical liberal because I believe in liberty and liberation and freedom and justice defined by God, not you.”
