Higher Education: The Death of Rational Thought

A good friend of mine once told me that higher education in today’s society often is the catalyst for the death of rational thought. After spending time at both my former and current universities, I can attest that this has become increasingly true. I transferred from my former university because I thought that my current school would have a more nurturing environment. Because it is rooted in catholic tradition, for the most part, I was correct. But the environment on campus was not the only reason I changed schools. I felt that my former campus was not only incredibly one sided, but it kept tackling the same issues over and over again. Even my now ex-girlfriend, (who was a liberal), had said in the past that she was tired of hearing about the same old issues. My former school spent much of their time indoctrinating us into believing that racism still exists in America, even though in the same breath the can offer a scholarship that pays the first year in full, only to minority students. My former university also went as far as to make first year students in a general English class watch a documentary about how America caused 9/11, and that this country was actually behind the attacks.
The point of this post is not to attack any one or two universities, but rather to try to explain why universities in today’s society seemingly preach the left side of the spectrum, while shunning those who still have the guts to stand up for the right side.
Evan Sayet once said at a discussion hosted by the Heritage Foundation, that in today’s world there is something called the “Liberal Indoctrinating Process.” This literally starts at the age of five and continues up to the point where society says you can “think for yourself.” Often times, in my opinion, the “think for yourself” point happens around age 23 or 24. But college today is, I believe, the point where the “LIP” service begins to escalate. Professors don’t have to hold their tongue when they lecture, and as long as there isn’t a conservative in the room to challenge their views, many times, students take the professors words as spun gold. In some cases even the course itself is geared liberally. As an education major, I actually have to take a course in multiculturalism. This leads me to ask the question, “If I don’t take this course, am I then labeled a bigot?” Or better yet, “is this course supposed to teach me what is politically correct with regards to racism and equality?” Because if so, and please, correct me if I am wrong, but the last time I checked the phrase “colored people” was politically incorrect, yet in today’s society the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People” still exists.
What it boils down to is this. The LIP service is supposed to teach us not to discriminate, and to have an open mind. But it is my belief that this LIP service has been blown so far out of proportion, that some day, you’re going to be able to walk up to a liberal, hold an apple and an orange in each of your hands, and the liberal will not be able to tell the difference. Why, because that would be discrimination.
Universities are supposed to be teaching their students how to be free thinkers. But I beg to ask the question, “how can you encourage fair, balanced, critical thinking, when you only look at issues from one side?” Conservatives are often labeled as cold hearted, close minded individuals who don’t care about anything but their own personal gain. My question is, “how can you blame a person for learning from past experiences, discriminating facts from fiction, and acting accordingly when the same issues come up in the future?” How exactly can you blame a person for thinking about an issue critically, weighing the pros and cons, and then taking a more conservative stance? How can you blame a conservative for actually being an individual, instead of taking the LIP service and moving on through life, unable to truly think for oneself?