Bridges at Berkeley

                There is an organization at The University of California at Berkeley called BridgeUSA which was founded by a freshman there named Pranav Jandhyala. The purpose of the group is to promote and facilitate forums and opportunities for “free and fair political discussion and debate from all sides.”

                You read that right.

                I cannot imagine BridgeUSA has a membership waiting list at Berkeley but I absolutely applaud and support Mr. Jandhyala’s intentions and efforts. The sharing and challenging of opposing political ideas is what made this country great and, in my opinion, should be one of the primary purposes of colleges and universities.

                BridgeUSA is the group that invited Ann Coulter to speak on the topic of immigration. Presumably the topic of illegal immigration, though that is not how it is referenced at UC Berkeley or probably most public places in California.

                Coulter was to be the counter point to an April 17 discussion featuring Maria Echaveste, former advisor to the Clinton administration (the one that actually was president) who presented the liberal notion that illegal immigration is a great idea. The account I read said Echaveste’s presentation was peaceful and that Ms. Echaveste fielded questions afterwards from both conservative students at Berkeley.

                Ok, I made up “both,” but it’s Berkeley for crying out loud. How many conservative kids do you think were there?

 
               Ann Coulter’s presentation had to be cancelled because the threats of violence (not just of protest and dissent, but v-i-o-l-e-n-c-e) grew so severe and serious that neither the campus administration nor the local police could guarantee Ms. Coulter’s safety. Sounds like we may have a ways to go on “free and fair political discussion” at Berkeley, doesn’t it?

                God bless him for trying to be open-minded, but Jandhyala does say that “many” feel that Coulter is “an inflammatory figure whose destructive beliefs disqualify her from speaking at an institution of higher learning.”  Destructive beliefs like you should enter the country legally?

                Hey, that’s exactly why we didn’t invite Maria Echaveste to our block party! (I’m just kidding. We haven’t had a block party this year.)

                To his credit—and I give him a lot—Jandhyala, while he admits he disagrees with Coulter, holds that the proper way to deal with “dangerous views” (I think he means Coulter’s) is to present “better views” (by which I think he means his). And he is exactly right, at least about the exchange of viewpoints and actively challenging those with whom you disagree without using a baseball bat or a Molatov cocktail.

                I am way more encouraged by young Jandhyala’s efforts than I am discouraged by the riotous, violent, burn-it-to-the-ground temper tantrums of the Berkeley students when confronted with ideas they don’t like. It is, after all, Berkeley and my expectations are pretty low. They are their parent’s problem, not mine.

                The fact that on what has to be a top ten liberal campus there are young people (I think it’s safe to assume that BridgeUSA has a larger membership roster than just Jandhyala) who recognize the need to listen to opposing points of view and openly debate them without resorting to beating the crap out of those you disagree with because you aren’t smart enough to form sentences to express your point of view or without fleeing for your safe space and modeling clay for the same reason is very refreshing.

                It gives me hope. Especially because it’s clear in his article that Jandhyala himself leans to the left and yet he is open-minded enough to want to give voice to the right.

                The left seems to have this notion that the right is filled with hate, evil, negativity and general meanness because we disagree with them and dare to express ourselves out loud. I know that those of us on the right feel like all we are doing is responding to their point of view when we commit our egregious crimes against humanity.

                In fact, we are not immune to accusing the left of hate, evil, negativity and general meanness but my observation is that such an accusation made of them by the right is met with vehement anger and disgust that we would suggest they are being unreasonable when they publicly call for the death of President Trump.

                I guess it’s a matter of whose foot the shoe is on or something like that. I’m sure we’re both guilty of unreasonable behavior and I can vouch for the fact that many of the liberal memes I see posted on Facebook make my blood boil but I will be the first to admit (and save everyone else the trouble) that I post more than my share of inflammatory conservative memes.

                I know there has even been some violent response to today’s political climate by the right though it seems to me one has to look a lot harder to find incidences. The left, however, I think has far and away won the contest for violent and riotous behavior since the election of President Donald Trump.

                I assure you those are not conservatives setting fire to businesses and buildings, beating Trump supporters with baseball bats and rioting and adding the odd big-screen tv to their list of possessions as some twisted measure of free speech. Nope they are the left and until liberal leadership, from the top of the liberal food chain to the grass-roots level of your neighborhood begins to condemn that behavior and speak out against it the left has to own it.

                Oh, I know most liberals are actually decent human beings no matter how screwed up I think their political point of view is. While many of them have raised kids wailing in college safe spaces, many more have raised good kids who want nothing more than to live their lives peacefully and freely (which makes one wonder how they can be liberal, but I recognize my own bias).

 I know many of them pray, it’s just not popular amongst their side. I know many of them perform kind and charitable acts. In fact between setting things on fire they think charity is their exclusive providence although a quick check of the facts proves otherwise. Most of them have great value systems and really want nothing more than good things for this country and its inhabitants (hold your outburst here, they really do, they just see a different path to get there that apparently makes sense to them).

But I am sick and tired of them screaming “hater,” every single time a conservative dares to disagree with them. I am tired of being told we are on the side of evil when it is not conservatives murdering cops in the street, blocking highways, creating sanctuary cities that do not discriminate between hard working immigrants (who shouldn’t be here under illegal circumstances) but are not violent, and MS13 members killing people in the street.

Can’t we talk about it kids, without screaming at each other? Does it really take a college freshman to create the forum for the free exchange and discussion of political thought?

Shouldn’t somebody with a little more experience as an adult have thought of that first?