Thursday, September 14, 2006

Take That, New York Slimes   [John Hood]

Columnists Thomas Sowell and John McWhorter have both responded to a recent New York Times hit piece on conservative think tanks. It alleged that conservative commentators have “failed to disclose” financial relationships between their employers and corporations, such as Wal-Mart, that they have defend in print or on the air.

Sowell calls this a biased cheap shot, which it no doubt was, but also makes some broader points worth considering about how think tanks work:

I could not name five donors to the Hoover Institution if my life depended on it, though I am sure there are far more than five. For all I know, I may have defended some of those unknown donors — or I may have bitten the hand that feeds me by attacking them in this column. It is by no means unknown for different scholars at the Hoover Institution to come out publicly on opposite sides of controversies. Nor is that unknown at other think tanks, liberal or conservative.

As usual, Sowell penetrates down below the surface of the controversy to uncover a more serious problem in public discourse:

The self-infatuated idea nobody could disagree with you for honest and informed reasons is far more dangerous than possible influence from donors' money. Far more is involved here than cheap-shot journalism. It is the audience for such journalism that is the real concern. Our whole educational system, from the elementary schools to the universities, is increasingly turning out people who have never heard enough conflicting arguments to develop the skills and discipline required to produce a coherent analysis, based on logic and evidence.

The implications of having so many people so incapable of confronting opposing arguments with anything besides ad hominem responses reach far beyond Wal-Mart or think tanks. It is in fact the Achilles heel of this generation of our society and of Western civilization.

As for McWhorter, his crisply argued piece concludes with confidence: “Opinions will differ. But when I express mine, it won't be because my ‘patron’ told me to, and I will say to them loudly: I'm black, I work for the Manhattan Institute, and I'm proud.”

09/14 09:26 AMShare