Addendum: Redefining our Mission at Heterodox Academy
WHY do we adhere to the FIRE and Heterodox Academy mission and battle cry for FREEDOM OF INQUIRY and FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (that we have and agree on) ?
Freedom of Inquiry is alive and well in the USA. This is supported by the phenomenal (and exponentially rising) advancement of knowledge.
Freedom of expression is alive and well. 30 years ago we heard near zero voices. Today we hear billions of voices, every day, all day.
Our main problem is DISINFORMATION, its fabrication and teaching at the university.
STEM scientists have defined and exposed the problem.
and that is the problem that we should address.
But, we Academicians, FIRE and Heterodox Academy have perpetuated, rather than abated, the exponential rise of DEI/Woke disinformation and the dismantling of Western values of Democracy and human rights. weareall.com/pedagogica…
The new administration will restructure education to eliminate DEI/Woke and pro-Jihad, anti-democracy, anti-humanity ideology on campus. Hence, it is time for us to redefine our mission.
Post October 7, academia and FIRE flaunted their support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Jihad. This was a wakeup call to what we, educators, have done. We received freshman students who were deeply committed to the rights and freedom of all humans, and we transformed them into advocates of ideologies that viciously suppress human rights and freedoms. Brilliant students at MIT continue to support Jihad and view Western Culture as the chief enemy of humanity. This alarming historical phenomenon is as serious as communism and Nazism in the 1930s (which academia failed to address and resolve). The voice of the university has now become a weapon that promotes global deaths in real time. This is no longer an academic issue open to chatting. It is clearly time for the American people to intervene.. but this will not come without pain. It is up to us to participate in the restructuring of our educational institutions in order to ensure and optimize the free and effective pursuit of knowledge.
It is time for FIRE and Heterodox Academy to (abandon our empty slogans and) actively engage in the reconstruction of our educational system to the benefit of our students. And it is time for us to make sure that this happens.
The phenomenal progress in information technology transformed our educational system into a dinosaur that requires re-creation. Let's embrace the restructuring of education as a welcome opportunity.