Educated in what? To impart knowledge, we have to gain it first. Knowledge begins with ideas. Many times ideas compete. To follow an idea to knowledge we have to allow the widest range of exchange and never impede ideas from being propagated. Let the ideas fight it out in public and let the best add to our store of knowledge. You might say everyone agrees to that. You would be wrong! The world is a free place to present and discuss ideas so long as they’re the “right” ones.In what part of the globe can you post any idea on the internet or other media without fear of retribution? Russia? China? Turkey? Cuba? We know espousing the wrong thoughts could land you in a world of  trouble. A poem on TV in Germany can find you in legal problems. Just ask comedian Jan Böhmermann. He will soon find himself in court for a sastirical poem mocking the President of Turkey. But the U.S. is different, you say. An energy company discussing its business with shareholders and others can find itself threatened by hordes of State Attorney Generals with a blizzard of litigation. Just ask Exxon. In fact anyone not towing the line on Climate Change, could find themselves in trouble. Talk about an area where there are all sorts of ideas and questions in play, it’s climate change. Even if you agree with the premise the world is warming, there are loads of things to discuss. Should the Government stop subsidizing flood insurance in coastal or low-lying areas if the seas are rising? Should we encourage heat and drought resistant GMOs to safeguard the food supply? What actions make the most economic sense? Is warming actually better overall for mankind? Try to get a dime of Government funding for research for any these and you’ll be disappointed. Private sector funding is dying from fear of  what Exxon is facing or worse. Even if you could get funding, what University would support it?  In fact the very Universities that should be oasis for the free exchange of thought are in fact just the opposite. How many people can freely express unpopular (at least on campus) ideas at your local U?

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