April 01, 2004
The Department of Political Grievance-mongering
The Department of Political Grievance-mongering
We here at "The Hatemonger's Quarterly" were lucky (if that is the mot juste) to intercept a homework assignment from the Public Health Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A long-time confidante of "The Hatemonger's Quarterly" is unfortunate enough to attend this program, whose classes, she says, often degenerate into mindless political cheerleading.The assignement in question stems from a session the Public Health students were compelled to attend on the topic of Public Health and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender issues. This could certainly be a fine topic for such a session: After all, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered peoples could certainly have an assortment of health-related issues that would be important for any Public Health program to discuss.
The homework assignment that accompanied the session, however, makes it crystal clear what the session was really designed to offer its students: A partisan take on political and moral issues that would allow of no heterodoxy. For example, one of the potential assignments is the following: "Write a letter to your senator/legislator about an LGBT issue you support (for example equal rights for same sex unions, or healthcare benefits for same sex partners)." Clearly, the leaders of this LGBT session are touting a party-line on these issues: It is assumed (if not enforced) that everyone has the exact same views on LGBT issues. What a shocking use of funds on the part of a public university!
This is mere political grievance-mongering masquerading as education. The powers-that-be at UNC's Public Health Program want to compel students to parrot their own party-line on LGBT matters. What if a traditionalist Christian, an Orthodox Jew, or a traditionalist Muslim were a part of the Public Health Program? Would their views be acceptable to the "educators" at the Public Health Program, or would they be shunned as an example of "homophobic" hate speech?
We here at "The Hatemonger's Quarterly" have no qualms with LGBT partisans: Our staff favors offering many of the benefits given to married couples in America to same-sex partners. But the homework assignment of UNC's Public Health Program speaks to a fundamental educational issue: Is the goal of the Program to preach to students about "acceptable" and "unacceptable" political views, or is it earnestly concerned with educating its students?
Sally Satel demonstrated the disgraceful take-over of American Public Health departments by left-wing political proselytizers in her wonderful book PC MD. Satel chronicles the shift in these departments from an earnest concern for the public's health to the more dubious goal of left-wing political cheerleading. It is disgraceful to see that UNC's Public Health Program is following this sordid tradition of ideological demagoguery.
