To the Editor:
Re “Academia’s Rejection of Diversity” (Op-Ed, Oct. 31):
Arthur C. Brooks is asking the wrong question. The question is not whether we need more conservative viewpoints in academia but why there are so few conservatives in academia. Not all ideas are of equal validity and thus deserving of equal time in college classrooms. Some ideas are empirically better than others.
The liberal version of reality predominates in academia because, quite simply, it is closer to the truth.
For example, the conservative view of biology and geology (that humans are a product of divine creation and the world is 6,000 years old) is just flat-out wrong.
And the conservative view of economics (that cutting taxes and expenditures during a recession results in greater prosperity) has been proven time and again to be false.
Another reason for the prevalence of liberal thought on college campuses was given long ago by a social scientist: It is just more humane. Liberals seek to treat all races, religions, classes, genders and so on equally compared with conservatives, who want a pre-1960 America.
And whereas all humans are created equal, the same cannot be said for all ideas.
BRUCE SHEIMAN
New York
Note from KBJ: Bruce Sheiman isn't smart enough to realize that his letter makes the conservative point. He has a cartoon version of conservatism. How did that come about? Undoubtedly, because he hasn't been exposed at school to a real live conservative!
