loving art, science and creative kids

High Desert Sunset

The sixth painting in my Coronavirus Series. In the face of protests, illness, isolation, and political devisions, walks though natural settings calm me. I marvel at the way light changes with the seasons and appears different as day turns to dusk. Away from news, the atmosphere is contemplative and peaceful. Meandering the hills of Oregon’s High Desert is purifying, returning me to center. I come home refreshed and ready to step into the rhythm of my daily routine.  (Sorry, but the painting is spoken for)

I Have an Opinion Too

As we do every year, my partner and I flew the Betsy Ross flag to commemorate the country’s independence from England, but this was the first time people stopped at our house and asked us to take it down. The recent protests reminded them there was slavery in the thirteen original colonies and that was land taken from Native Americans, but rather than accept that part of our  history and decry it, they wanted to wipe the slate clean as though it never happened. They watched fireworks, forgetting the struggle that took place for the country to be free from a foreign power, that thirteen colonies united under a constitution, and that Betsy Ross’s flag flew over the new nation. Though far from perfect, the country that evolved was better than it was under a British monarchy.

 July 7th, Harper’s Magazine posted an online communication titled— A Letter on Justice and Open Debate.  The letter was a wake-up call to people who are quick to judge, act and react without debate. Though it acknowledged the importance of protests calling for social justice and racial equality it segues to a growing intolerance for disparate views. The authors were especially critical of liberals unwilling to hear any voice but their own. They argued that the way we are proceeding bans opposition and weakens the norms for “open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity.” 

They remind us that the free exchange of information and ideas is the lifeblood of a liberal society and that censorship that liberals frequently assigned to the radical right, now comes more frequently from the left.  Both left and right give “swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions,”  and use moral certainty to shame and ostracize those who question and want to take a deeper look at issues. The authors mentioned dissidents who were fired for expressing opinions contrary to current public sentiment, for publishing controversial articles, and for circulating peer reviewed research with outcomes that don’t support popular beliefs. They wrote of teacher who was let go for quoting literature that made students think critically and broadly about a subject.

Their message states that we are creating a stifling, intolerant atmosphere, one in which democracy will suffer.  Intellectuals need room to experiment, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of reprisal. The letter is signed by 153 well known scholars, journalists, and artists including such luminaries as Norm Chomsky, David Brooks, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, and J.K. Rowling. 

Adding to the debate over intolerance and freedom of expression is current criticism directed at Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, and other social media platforms. Complaints abound from right and left leaning voices, politicians, social clubs, welfare organizations, and religious groups. They come at a time when hate speech is rampant at campaign rallies and conspiracy theories abound turning men like Bill Gates to be treated like a pariah by linking him to the onset of Covid-19. Malicious rumors spread like lightning through the internet leaving people angry, afraid, confused and harmed. Scientists are distrusted while anti-vaccine and flat-earth movements grow.

We watch residents in countries like Hong Kong lose their rights, making many of us wonder if we will be next. Our right to privacy is all but gone. Will our right to express ourselves be the next thing to go? I can’t think of a more important and timely discussion to have than one centered on open-mindedness and the limits to be placed free expression.   

To deepen this discourse, I copied excerpts from an article written by Jennifer Schuessler and Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times on July 7, 2020. They discuss the letter published by Harper’s magazine.

“The debate over diversity, free expression and the limits of acceptable opinion is a long-burning one. But the letter, which was spearheaded by the writer Thomas Chatterton Williams, began taking shape about a month ago, as part of a long-running conversation about these issues with a small group of writers including the historian David Greenberg, the writer Mark Lilla and the journalists Robert Worth and George Packer. . . 

  “He said there wasn’t one particular incident that provoked the letter. But he did cite several recent ones, including the resignation of more than half the board of the National Book Critics Circle over its statement supporting Black Lives Matter, a similar blowup at the Poetry Foundation, and the case of David Shor, a data analyst at a consulting firm who was fired after he tweeted about academic research linking looting and vandalism by protesters to Richard Nixon’s 1968 electoral victory. . . (Do click on these links. They are illuminating. See others in references below.)

“Such incidents, Mr. Williams said, both fueled and echoed what he called the far greater and more dangerous “illiberalism” of President Trump.

“Donald Trump is the Canceler in Chief,” he said. “But the correction of Trump’s abuses cannot become an overcorrection that stifles the principles we believe in.”

  “What concerns me is a sense that a lot of people out there seem to think open argument over everything is an unhealthy thing,” he said. “I’ve spent my whole life having vigorous arguments with people I disagree with, and don’t want to think we are moving out of this world.”

I too am concerned about the issues raised above. My July 4th flag experience isn’t the only time I felt ostracized because I saw two sides to an issue and mentioned them. My opinion, as does yours, should matter.  It is important to understand history within the context of the period in which it was lived. We can look back and wonder what worked and what didn’t, but must look forward to decide what changes to make and the best way to do so.  There is an advantage to listening to scientists,  historians, thinkers and dreamers  for they help us grow and get better. They lead the way for America to reach its lofty ideals.

References:

Read the letter in its entirety:  https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

Schuessler, J and Harris, E, (2020) Artists and writers Warn of an Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction is Swift. New York Times. retrieved from  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/arts/harpers-letter.html

   Freelander,D.  (2017)Award winning teacher fired for reading an Allen Ginsberg Poem. Daily Beast. retrieved from  https://www.thedailybeast.com/award-winning-teacher-fired-for-reading-an-allen-ginsberg-poem

Isaac, M (2020) Reddit, Acting Against Hate Speech, Bans ‘The_Donald’ Subreddit. New York Times. retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/technology/reddit-hate-speech.html

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