Hear the arguments

Submitted by Tony Currie (Australia), Oct 2, 2002 at 19:07

I think the argument got rather railroaded, in the middle of all this.

Let's face it, there is a left and a right in every country. Usually, the right is associated with business and government. Both views should be heard.

The US isn't exactly famous for its left wing..... the left is pretty quiet. Places like Italy and France have had huge communist parties, living along right-wing parties. Really, despite all the US talk of democracy, France and Italy have been more democratic in allowing a wider spectrum of talk.

On the middle east, a wide range of voices should be allowed to talk. "Debates" like this, with an obviously biased moderator ( and Fox is generally regarded as right-wing...run by our well-known Rupert Murdoch... here in Australia it is the same),,, debates like this don't really deal with the issue fairly.

Let us not attack professors, or even give advice to parents, about professors. Universities contain a wide range of thinking. On the Middle East question, there are a plethora of opinions... right and left, pro and anti all positions.

But I have noticed a dangerous trend in the US, of the right, with its media power, of trying to "out" and embarrass anything "lliberal." I subscribe to several US web services doing just this.

Argue against...present alternative arguments...but don't attack the man, don't play the man.

In this case, as I said... the professor's opinion wasn't even heard through, before the moderator started to throw his opinion in...In the middle of the professor's reply he said...."here it comes." So he sandwiched the guy's arguments in...didn't allow them to be heard fully. He told the audience that they were classic left-wing. He didn't even give the audience a chance to hear and think for themselves. Now that's bias.

Biased moderators....there are plenty of them. Dramatic. Entertaining. Good for ratings.Yes. Good for democracy. Not really.

Tony Currie
(Sydney, Australia)

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