Conservatives welcome opposing views in The Bee, unlike liberals

Lately, I’ve been reading opinions concerning Victor Davis Hanson, the columnist and historian. Conservatives say that those who oppose him should read something else. Many liberals, however, say not only that they don’t want to read him, but he should be dropped from the paper. In short, they want him silenced, just as they have called for other conservative voices to be silenced as well.

I’m certain that if someone suggested removing writers such as Paul Krugman or Thomas Friedman, liberals would be the first to scream censorship and freedom of speech. Their mantra appears to be that the road to enlightenment consists of suppressing anyone whose views deviate from theirs. If one looks at history, that’s the classic philosophy of a dictatorship.

Liberals claim that they are patriotic Americans, but their actions belie their words. How can one be a believer in the Constitution who demands that any opposing views be eliminated? I’m not afraid of different ideas, and neither are most conservatives.

Many liberals, though, seem to be scared of people who read and form opinions based on all sides. Independent thinking is what America should be about. But maybe that’s what some liberals are afraid of.

This story was originally published July 23, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Conservatives welcome opposing views in The Bee, unlike liberals."