An editorial debacle

Thursday’s editorial regarding what the editors of this publication refer to as “the Gen. Pace debacle” lacks any coherent argument and does nothing to make a case against Gen. Pace’s appointment to the Poling Chair.

The main thrust of the editors’ argument is this: We disagree with a stance that Gen. Pace took in a public interview, so he should not be appointed to a position at the University. That he holds these beliefs, however, is not as important to the editors as the fact that he articulated them in the interview.

There are two problems here. One, does a person’s personal beliefs qualify or disqualify him for a university post? Two, does vocalizing his beliefs make them more wrong? 

Certainly a person’s personal beliefs are one factor in determining his or her behavior, but since when do personal beliefs qualify or disqualify a person for university service? Don’t we at the university level encourage diversity of thought, even when we may disagree with some of the thoughts? I would suppose that every professor on campus holds beliefs that are disagreeable to some. But we don’t hear people calling for resignations, because we value diversity in all its forms. Without it, we would be studying at a factory that churns out hordes of like-minded students. 

And how does vocalizing your beliefs make them worse? Gen. Pace’s remarks certainly have not done wonders for his image. But whether he speaks a thing or not, he still believes it and it still informs his behavior. I would guess that Gen. Pace’s thoughts on the subject were known to some and would have come out either before or soon after his appointment anyway.

The editors hint that personal beliefs are in fact relevant to an academic appointment but drop that argument quickly in favor of contending that public articulation of his beliefs is what disqualifies him, an argument they sum up with a pithy rephrasing of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” 

The editors are more open-minded than this, aren’t they?    

Tom Reese
IU Graduate Student