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They Got The Elephant's avatar

Bravo young Glenn! This Cuban-American arrived at Cornell University in 1981 to find the PC battles raging. In hindsight the era represented the drawing of battles lines. The PC arguments struck me as absurd at the time and we had some good laughs. Little did I think these skirmishes would give birth to the pitch battles we are living through today. In 1981 a negotiated peace might have still been possible, today the trenches are deeper and weapons such as social media have made the battles far deadlier and more consequential. The civilized back and forth of your Firing Line video is difficult to watch. Not because of any shortcomings of the participants or embarrassing gaffes. No.. it's the very idea of people carrying on a debate that presupposes some basic cultural norms such as, intellectual honesty, civility, joy in making cogent arguments appealing to intelligence. You know... the things we thought as the birthright of those of us born in the light of Western Civilization. I feel like I am watching a debate in ancient Athens. I don't think a debate like that would be possible on today's college campuses without violence breaking out. The very premise of the back and forth seems quaint. My difficulty is rooted in anxiety and the knowledge that what I am watching belongs to an era which I may never see again in my lifetime.

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Frank Higgins's avatar

What a brilliant and appropriate debate, for then and for now! Thank you for resurrecting this gem.

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