Pipes' Legitimate Criticism

Submitted by Gabriel Grosso (Italy), Dec 28, 2002 at 16:53

I live in London but I am an Italian national. As an Italian, I know how important free debate is in a democratic society; as a Londoner, I know how polarized university campuses can be. As a European, I envy America because it can produce thinkers like Daniel Pipes. Europe does not have the tradition of moderate Right-Wing which is such an important factor in the United States of America. While some politicians are trying to rectify this deficiency, the truth is that this is a handicap which we can never overcome completely.

Daniel Pipes' criticism of anti-American professors should not be interpreted as an attempt to curtail freedom of speech in America. Indeed, Pipes is just proposing counter-views without advocating censorship. Instead of worrying about the Bush administration, professors and human rights activists should worry about those who are killed, jailed and tortured by Saddam and his regime.

Why are those professors saying nothing about the lack of free speech in the Middle East? It is a right to criticize Bush; it is also a right for others to build counter-arguments.

Far from being a proscription list, Campus Watch is a useful tool to expose bias, hatred, bigotry and fanaticism that is rampant on American campuses. Lies cannot go unchallenged.

In Italy-and Europe- the Right fails to provide a valuable alternative because it has been historically associated with fascism. If you are not on the Left, you are a pariah. In contrast, in the United States, moderates are in a better position to challenge the anti-American, Anti-Israeli, anti-British and anti-Russian bias of the Left.

I only discovered Pipes very recently. And I see him as a respectable advocate for patriotism, America and other democracies like Israel.

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