In an email chain emblematic of the liberal bias that dominates college campuses today, an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University launched into a tirade against the KSU YAF chapter, their upcoming lecture with Katie Pavlich, and American soldiers. [pullquote]”War is, at least the way we’ve done it, gangsterism in service to capitalism.” -Professor Neil Wilkinson [/pullquote] In a bizarre and rambling email to YAF students, professor Neil Wilkinson says that for freedom, “much must be sacrificed, and I don’t mean going out an [sic] getting shot up in a war.” What exactly, then, does Wilkinson think our military’s work to liberate millions from the shackles of totalitarianism amount to? “War is, at least the way we’ve done it, gangsterism in service to capitalism. The jingoistic sentimentality of fighting and dying for one’s country is really little more that [sic] increasing or protecting market share.” That a professor would insinuate brave Americans in uniform who protect his rights are so-called gangsters in service to capitalism is beyond the pale. The men and women who put their lives on the line in the United States and around the world are doing immeasurably more than he could ever comprehend or appreciate. Wilkinson’s rambling email goes on to claim that facts are “a thing to which many of that ilk are allergic,” referring again to New York Times bestselling author Katie Pavlich and her colleagues at Fox News. “The speaker [Pavlich] and her network [Fox News] are propagandists of a different stripe, but propagandists nonetheless,” Wilkinson writes. It is apparently so unimaginable to Wilkinson that the YAF chapter and Katie Pavlich would want to articulate conservative ideas at KSU, that his only explanation is to call Pavlich a paid propagandist who denies that other thinking exists and is allergic to facts. The email from Wilkinson was in response to a request from the Young Americans for Freedom Chapter that extra credit be offered to students who attend KSU YAF’s upcoming campus lecture with Katie Pavlich, a common practice when student groups bring in outside speakers. Wilkinson continued his rant by saying those who call out media bias and reported inaccuracies as ‘fake news’ is to “suspend critical thought, paralyze necessary and efficacious discourse, and rob the populace of the opportunity to effectively engage in a free and untainted examination of issues important to it.” The professor added that using the term ‘fake news’ “is to incarcerate one’s self in a single dimension by denying that any other dimensions exist.” In closing, Wilkinson suggests that Pavlich, as the “purveyor” of conservative ideas, is predisposed to “depart from uncomfortable truths and to pander to the very suspension of critical thought the purveyor created by the purveyor’s pompous pontification pronouncing all but what the purveyor says as contrived, concocted, or created. Bringing to mind the following question: Is Ms. Pavlich being paid?” The outrageous claim that Pavlich is only a bold conservative because it pays the bills is baseless and clearly illogical: conservatives are subject to endless criticism, ridicule, and ostracism for their beliefs, as Wilkinson’s ranting email proves. Would Wilkinson question the liberal credentials of Hillary Clinton because she charges $250,000-$300,000 per appearance? Pavlich’s track record of truth-seeking journalism speaks for itself, and her sincere belief in conservative principles and the efficacy of the solutions conservatism provides are exactly why students at KSU ought to hear her speak. [pullquote]”It is quite troubling that… an obscenity of such magnitude as the ‘Second Amendment rights’ argument becomes pervasive and dictates public policy.” -Professor Neil Wilkinson[/pullquote] Wilkinson clearly has an axe to grind against the Constitution, conservatives, and Trump Administration officials, as evidenced by his Facebook page. “It is quite troubling,” he says that “an obscenity of such magnitude as the ‘Second Amendment rights’ argument becomes pervasive and dictates public policy.” Wilkinson referred to President Trump as a “known criminal,” called the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre a “colossal waste of otherwise perfectly serviceable protoplasm,” and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin a “lying bastard.” Wilkinson also described his “nearly orgasmic” joy at watching conservative “boobs do completely booby stuff.” Certainly he’s entitled to his opinions, but here’s hoping Wilkinson is able to attend Katie Pavlich’s lecture to hear a real conservative explain what freedom is, who we owe it to, and what we must do to protect it. He might learn a thing or two.
