Quote of the Day

[Guest guest]

" On education:'I once taught a mass media class at Cornell University.

Midway through the course some students began to complain that they

were getting only one side, one perspective. I pointed out that, in

fact, the class discussions engaged a variety of perspectives and some

of the readings were of the more standard fare. But the truth was,

admittedly, that the predominant thrust of the class and assigned

readings was substantially critical of the mainstream media and of

corporate power in general. Then I asked them, 'How many of you have

been exposed to this perspective in your many other social science

courses?' Of the forty students---mostly seniors and juniors who had

taken many other courses in political science, economics, history,

sociology, psychology, anthropology, and mass communications not one

hand went up (a measure of the level of ideological diversity at

Cornell). Then I asked the students, 'How many of you complained to

your other instructors that you were getting only one side?' Again not

a hand was raised, causing me to say, 'So your protest is not really

that you're getting only one side but that, for the first time, you're

departing from that one side and are being exposed to another view and

you don't like it.' Their quest was not to investigate opinion

heterodoxy but to insulate themselves from it.' "

 

— Michael Parenti

 

http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle15822.html