tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079851.post185387902808237083..comments2023-10-22T07:19:57.496-04:00Comments on Oliver's Offerings: Letting the Man Have His SayJana Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00603652346290427856noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079851.post-32569370726812239612007-09-30T23:00:00.000-04:002007-09-30T23:00:00.000-04:00So right, Steve. At one time Iowa City had an open...So right, Steve. At one time Iowa City had an open mind. I'm hoping it still does. An open mind allows you sort out the crazies from those who just might be ahead of our time. The Bahai's refer to this as "Independent investigation of truth." Each person should weigh things for themselves, not accept what their government, their neighbors or their family says is right. The only way to do that is to let folks like Mr. A have his say. Frankly, I'm mortified that the president of Columbia went out of his way to excoriate him. That only give Mr. A more "power", exactly what he doesn't need. If it had been me, I would have said, "Ladies & gentlemen, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran" and let the students make their own decisions. Apparently, Columbia's president never bothered to take any history classes when he was in college.Jana Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00603652346290427856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079851.post-32577911007254123752007-09-30T22:33:00.000-04:002007-09-30T22:33:00.000-04:00In your "questions" post, a student asks you how g...In your "questions" post, a student asks you how growing up in Iowa affected you. I don't know about the questioner, but the vast majority of Americans think of Iowa as one great cornfield. But this post, to me, is proof of Iowa, or at least, Iowa City influence. The great liberal tradition of Iowa City maintains that allowing even the most obnoxious views to be heard is far less dangerous than to suppress those opinions. And coming from that Iowa City tradition, I agree.steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.com