In response to Mark Witte's letter to the editor in which he claims a university liberal bias: It really isn't a surprise that "liberalism" tends to be found where the light of education and reason is shown. Conservative views are more consistent, however. They consistently fly in the face of scientific evidence and reason, relying more on an unfounded faith. All we hear from conservatives is that X and Y have a liberal bias, yet they rarely want to discuss the issue itself to which they claim the bias is being applied.
There is an overriding theme to conservative views, and it needs to be addressed. They have a perverse idea of causation. They fail to accurately account for why things are. Rather, a conservative will see things superficially, process that information, and apply a type of reasoning that best conforms to a strongly (even stubbornly) adhered philosophy. And it's evident in all their views. It includes everything from their opposition to Darwinian theory, to reasons for racial inequality, to accounts of their general homophobia. As a result, opposition and difference are fiercely attacked.
Advancement is held up. Consequently, and I can give countless examples, scientific and social progress have been severely slowed, if not totally impeded, at crucial points in our history. Most of the social ills in our society, like racist and sexist views, almost always have a conservative root. Go ahead and visit a rural southern town where baptism and conservatism infests every nook of daily life and observe the brimming closed-mindedness.
Here is a contemporary example. To a conservative, humans are no more than the summation of a sperm and an egg, again disregarding the complete causation of a human, i.e., a birth, a childhood, an adolescence, an adulthood, and the experiences and personalities that we accumulate and develop throughout these periods. I'm disgusted, no - appalled, that I am considered to be merely the result of some two-ingredient recipe. It is because of conservative views that essential stem cell research, which will indubitably benefit humankind (that's you and me), is being impeded because it does not conform to a particular line of thinking.
There is only one good thing about conservatism that I can conceive. When liberalism pushes too far, conservatism will keep it in check. This is a good thing, and it's not because of some positive factor inherent in conservative philosophy. It's because conservatives cease on the opportunity to oppose, especially when that opportunity so conveniently presents itself.
