[Peace-discuss] Limits of allowable debate

[C. G. Estabrook]

Let a hundred flowers bloom, a thousand schools of thought contend.

--a free translation from Clement of Alexandria (2nd century CE)


LAURIE SOLOMON wrote:
>> ["It's not what you do / But the way that you do it," sing liberal 
>> pro-Israel groups.  In fact these groups are observing Chomsky's maxim: 
>> "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the
>> spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that
>> spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives
>> people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time
>> the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on
>> the range of the debate." --CGE]
> 
> Funny; but that seems to apply to most if not all areas of human behavior and
> conduct whatever the enterprise, topic, or issue.  It can be said about 
> science, about academia, about social organizations, about activist groups, 
> and about the arts.  Even you practice and abide by it in your everyday life,
> in your political life, and even on this list.
> 
> Having noted that, I will say that there is nothing wrong in pointing it out 
> when and wherever it takes place as well as describing what those limits are 
> for a given enterprise; where one goes astray is when one believes that there
> are areas and undertakings where it is not the rule or norm.  Yes every such
> context will have its occasional breaks from the norm; we call those breaks
> "revolutions."  It is what Thomas Kuhn describes in his relatively old book,
> The Scientific Revolution, with respect to the enterprise of science. The
> arts are no different; so why would one be surprised to find it true of 
> organized socio-political and economic behaviors.  Those who tend to break 
> the boundaries on a consistent and regular basis are considered crazy, nut 
> cases who belong in and usually are put in an insane asylum if they become 
> too rambunctious; otherwise they are ostracized and drummed out of the 
> community or otherwise not allowed to participate in the debate in any 
> meaningful way.