Wednesday, July 8, 2020

An Intolerant Climate

On Tuesday “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” appeared online, signed by 153 prominent artists and intellectuals.  The letter stated, “The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.”  The letter cited “an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.”

“We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without each other.  As writers we need a culture that leaves us room for experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes.”

I’m certainly not in the company of people to asked to sign a letter like that, but if I were, I would be proud to sign it.  I am really intolerant of intolerance.  I like to think that I’ve always marched to the beat of a drummer that only I can hear.  

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