LOL-- I've been denounced as "anti-American" to my employer...

[mike_c]

...for my posts on DU! My department chairman recently received an email that included:

>I wanted to make you aware of the fact that one of your "esteemed"
>professors is running around the internet making very inflammatory and
>completely inaccurate statements about U.S. Soldiers.
>
>He is making these statements on this website; www.democraticunderground.com
>and here is a sample:


(original post snipped for brevity-- it was from March 2005 and discussed the illegality of the war against Iraq)

>As a soldier who has served honorably in Iraq and seen first hand the good
>things we are doing there I find this hateful uninformed rhetoric personally
>offensive as well as libelous and slanderous in nature as well as intent.
>
>Whether you know it or not, Mr. Camann's kind of radical anti-American
>screeching only helps to bolster help bolster the already numerous reasons
>why people should not vote for the Democratic party in this country.
>
>The fact that he is able to spew such small minded babble is because of the
>soldiers that he has deemed "war criminals". A fact that seems to fly
>completely over this supposedly intelligent man's head.
>
>Perhaps it would behoove you to remind him to stick to what he knows, which
>according to your website is Biology and stay away from the political arena
>where he seems to be overmatched. One Ward Churchill was enough without one
>of your staff trying to mold himself into a Churchill wannabe.
>
>Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>CPL John S. Wollaston
>Ft. Belvoir, VA.

Interestingly, a Google search for Mr. Wollaston turns his name up first, on-- wait for it-- Free Republic (although not as a poster apparently, but rather as a source). He has an article on a site called "Defend America-- U.S. Department of Defense News About the War on Terrorism." He appears to write for a variety of military publications. At best, he appears to be a paid cheerleader for the war against Irag and at worst a domestic psyops specialist. Interesting that he's trolling for year old comments and sending them to peoples' bosses. I wonder if he's doing it on his own time, or whether this is a DoD op.

I suppose this is something of a badge of distinction-- he even compared me to Ward Churchill, LOL! A note to Mr. Wollaston: I'm a tenured professor at a state liberal arts university-- collectively among the most unabashedly liberal institutions remaining in America-- where free speech is highly respected. This sort of denouncement might have been effective in the stalinist Soviet Union, and maybe even in some professions in the U.S., but don't be holding your breath waiting for department chairmen to censor professors for expressing views you regard as "anti-American," especially when we express them as private citizens. We are not yet back in the days of the blacklist!

Here's the part that will really infuriate Mr. Wollaston. My job is to help young men and women develop critical thinking skills, i.e. to encourage them to question conventions, including the ones that separate "Americanism" from "anti-Americanism." An educated populace is a curious populace that doesn't reflexively accept ideals simply because they're "American," or "Christian," or anything else. We produce students who are capable of arriving at a wide range of personal viewpoints, including views similar to Mr. Wollaston's, but the truth is that the more their education "takes," the more they tend to question such simplistic perspectives. I count that as a good thing. I've succeeded when my students analyze their Kool-aid before they agree to drink it. And my institution encourages that professional standard.