Socialism Makes People Selfish

During this season of giving, publicly funded University of Wyoming has revoked the funding of a registered conservative campus group because they invited conservative Dennis Prager to speak on campus.

The opposition to Prager said his speech is offensive, self-serving and unfair to others who disagree with him.

The title of his speech was: "Socialism Makes People Selfish."

Is this becoming a land of snowflakes and tyrants?


Prior to Prager's speech, student activists tried to shut down his appearance. After failing to do so, they picketed, demonstrated and finally, after the fact, have now been able to get the conservative group's funding revoked until 2019.

You likely know most all public colleges have a budget that is shared with the various campus clubs and groups for special events sponsored by the groups.

Hunter McFarland, the school's director of diversity for the student government, said he had hoped the event would be canceled, because Dennis Prager "is an anti-academic, rape advocate who spews hate speech against Muslims, Black people, Latinas, and many other groups who deserve to be protected at the University of Wyoming."

The students in opposition said, "I think the question these students clearly need to ask themselves is, 'was Prager's visit worth it?' "

And they raised the issue of Prager's $10,000 speaking fee--"It's a shame to see students and student fees used to promote Prager who will only profit on our backs."

My point is to defend neither Prager or the campus group---but to put the light on a growing problem in the most free, prosperous, blessed and generous country in the history of the world.

America.

We have a growing group of kids who have been indoctrinated against the principles of liberty and freedom and capitalism, while being bent toward the failed ideas of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and other despots in the dustbin of history---this by tenured professors with little to lose in their protected bubble of the classroom.

Tammy Bruce writes for the Washington Times, contributes to Fox News, and shares a deep concern for this generation and our country.

This week she wrote a column titled, "Of Snowflakes and Tyrants: College students' behavior must be stopped."

She says, "There's more than one swamp eating away at this nation. The ignorant and intolerant meltdown of students is brought to us by a 'liberal' education system determined to replace teaching with propaganda and logic and reason with unmoored emotion."

She asks, "So how do we explain when a new generation is steeped in bullying, complaining about hurt feelings, demanding 'safe spaces' and using pride in fragile egos and weakened emotional states as the excuse to condemn free speech?"

Bruce cites a recent example in New York where college students were thrown out of a student-run coffee shop because their "Make America Great Again" caps violated the "safe space" rules.

Ironically, the students wearing the caps were labeled "fascists," while being given 3 minutes to vacate the premises.

This, in New York and Wyoming, is not isolated---or rare. It's commonplace.

The Federalist reports, "Nearly half of American millennials (44%) would rather live in a socialist society than a capitalist one, according to a report from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) which relied on government polling data.

And there's widespread ignorance among millennials about socialism and communism.

A New York Times/ CBS poll last year found that 23% of those between the ages of 21 and 29 said tyrant, genocidal Joseph Stalin was a "hero."

In 2006 the American Institute of Research, funded by PEW Charitable Trust, found "More than 75% of students at 2-year colleges and more than 50% of students at 4-year colleges do not score at proficient levels of literacy."

Literacy levels have not improved in the past 11 years.

This year, 2017, the Fresno Bee newspaper shouted this headline: "Lawyers Sue California, because too many children can't read."

Incidentally, California has funneled $10 billion into its poorest performing school districts---so when Olympia, Salem, Boise, Sacramento or whomever tells us more money will solve the education problem---we already know the messengers suffer from the same delusion as the children.

Money isn't solving the problems.

Growing up poor doesn't make a child dumb.

God has given us the ability to learn. Yes, we can create opportunities to learn, but these opportunities are being wasted on social and even emotional indoctrination.

Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that the Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus survey found that "40% of students tested who didn't meet a standard deemed 'proficient' were unable to distinguish the quality of evidence in building an argument or express the appropriate level of conviction in their conclusion."

Bruce concludes that if we are to have leaders going forward in business, society and politics, "we better start draining the academic swamp as soon as possible."

Agreed.

And we better turn back to the "old ways" noted by the prophet Jeremiah and explained by Moses.

I'm reminded of this biblical instruction in Deuteronomy 11: 18, 19, 20:

Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

For more than 150 years America recognized the value of biblical principals in public education and America thrived. However, when Dewey and other so-called progressives gained control of education, a new path was forged which has led to the current disaster.

Yes, we must drain the swamps---but we must also choose a better path---the old path--- forward.

Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful. Be Blessed.