House of Eratosthenes

Let’s call it “the debate is over” syndrome, referring to a term used most often in relationship with climate change but also by President Barack Obama last week in reference to what remains his contentious, and theoretically reformable, health care plan. Ironically, this shift to certainty now comes increasingly from what passes for the Left in America.

These are the same people who historically have identified themselves with open-mindedness and the defense of free speech, while conservatives, with some justification, were associated more often with such traits as criminalizing unpopular views – as seen in the 1950s McCarthy era – and embracing canonical bans on all sorts of personal behavior, a tendency still more evident than necessary among some socially minded conservatives.

But when it comes to authoritarian expression of “true” beliefs, it’s the progressive Left that increasingly seeks to impose orthodoxy. In this rising intellectual order, those who dissent on everything from climate change, the causes of poverty and the definition of marriage, to opposition to abortion are increasingly marginalized and, in some cases, as in the Steyn trial, legally attacked.

A few days ago, Brendan Eich, CEO of the web browser company Mozilla, resigned under pressure from gay rights groups. Why? Because it was revealed he donated $1,000 to the campaign to pass Proposition 8, California’s since-overturned ballot measure defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

In many cases, I might agree with some leftist views, say, on gay marriage or the critical nature of income inequality, but liberals should find these intolerant tendencies terrifying and dangerous in a democracy dependent on the free interchange of ideas.

This shift has been building for decades and follows the increasingly uniform capture of key institutions – universities, the mass media and the bureaucracy – by people holding a set of “acceptable” viewpoints.

Gets back to the Arguments About Definitions thing. “Acceptable” viewpoints and “reasonable” viewpoints are not measured to be that way. They are pronounced as such, by those who want to “win” arguments, but are dead-set against assessing or discussing details, something that is necessary to the process of winning an argument honestly.

So, they simply pronounce. They say silly, empty things like “everybody knows” or “most people say.”

Public Service Announcement
- Zachriel | 04/23/2014 @ 06:33
Ctrl+F4 is the command. See ya.
- mkfreeberg | 04/23/2014 @ 17:32
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. The Hollywood blacklist? Technically not a First Amendment issue. The government didn’t tell the MPAA to do it. The government didn’t sentence anybody to the blacklist. The MPAA just voluntarily said “if you’re Communist or sympathetic, we’ll never hire you again and if you’re working here now, you’re fired.” So I guess that made it all okay.

You really and I mean really don’t want to go there.
- Rich Fader | 04/24/2014 @ 00:01
Rich Fader: The Hollywood blacklist? Technically not a First Amendment issue.

The Hollywood Blacklist wasn’t just criticism, but a secret collusion of businesses to keep people from working, and was in conjunction with government red baiting. People were prosecuted for refusing to testify based on their right to free association.

The Brendan Eich situation seems to be a far cry from what happened in Hollywood. There’s no FBI investigation, no forced testimonies, and no collusion between businesses. Mozilla is a special organization that relies on the public not only for sales, but for production, and that public tends to be a diverse demographic. While we might be wary of a panic leading to persecution of people holding a minority viewpoint, this hardly seems to be the case.
- Zachriel | 04/24/2014 @ 05:37
They figured out links! Baby steps.
- nightfly | 04/24/2014 @ 12:50
I wasn’t aware that the Brandon Eich thing was merely criticism. “Prop 8 was a bad cause, you shouldn’t have contributed to it”? That’s criticism. “You’re a homophobic scumbag”? That’s criticism. “I’m going to get you fired because of [either or both of said criticisms],” and then getting the person in question fired? That’s another thing entirely.

And the Hollywood blacklist was secret? Sadly, no. Ever heard of the Waldorf Statement? The MPAA was quite up-front about the prospect of killing people’s careers over their Communist ties. More so, quite frankly, than the players in the current scare.

And I repeat, entirely voluntarily, under no government compulsion whatsoever, therefore not a First Amendment matter. And therefore apparently not a problem anymore for, ahem, some people.

And Mozilla is not a beautiful and unique snowflake, and certainly didn’t become one by its behavior in this case. They’re just as susceptible to mob rule as any other organization, profit or non-profit.
- Rich Fader | 04/24/2014 @ 13:30
[…] alleged free-thinking and open-minded Tolerators who are indulging in “The Debate is Over” Syndrome. And they’re fooling themselves by saying, as in the fourth comment on that thread, that […]
- Part of a sadly continuing series | Blog of the Nightfly | 04/24/2014 @ 13:36
Rich Fader: And I repeat, entirely voluntarily, under no government compulsion whatsoever, therefore not a First Amendment matter.

The Waldorf Statement was in direct response to contempt citations by the U.S. House. The government was deeply involved in propagating the hysteria, and the threat of being called to testify and further investigations into Hollywood business practices is what galvanized the industry.

Rich Fader: They’re just as susceptible to mob rule as any other organization, profit or non-profit.

We acknowledge that a mob mentality can stifle free speech, but it is an exaggeration to see the Eich imbroglio as such.
- Zachriel | 04/24/2014 @ 14:22
[…] We Want More” Extermination? Scalia on Schuette vs. Coalition Why Do These People Even Exist? “‘The Debate is Over’ Syndrome” High Cost of Liberalism “Just Deal With That!” At Home With the Old Folks Stoffel […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 04/28/2014 @ 21:12

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“‘The Debate is Over’ Syndrome”Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014

“‘The Debate is Over’ Syndrome”
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014