Thomas Harrison
Fiefdom: Wherever socialism promotes output and progress. So maybe his own little world inside his own little mind?
Soapbox: Italian 46
Offense: Intellectually raping his captive audience
Question: If you’re not going to stick to Italian Cinema, can we at least discuss something useful?
“A positive view of human nature is shared by the likes of Wilhelm Reich and Rousseau, while the Republican Party possesses a negative view of human nature.” Professor Thomas Harrison of the Italian department was speaking matter-of-factly with a straight face, as if he had merely stated a simple historical fact. His assertion went unchallenged in the Italian Cinema and Culture (Italian 46) lecture, despite the lack of any supporting reason or logical argument.
Aside from statements without factual or logical support, demonization is Harrison’s other tactic. In a different lecture, taking a deliberate and gratuitous detour from the course material, Harrison quipped, “The Tea Party calls Obama a ‘Socialist.’ They use the term as if it meant ‘Satan.’” At this point, he has a slight smirk on his lips. One may wonder how he arrived at this point out of a discussion of an Italian film—I myself have forgotten. Harrison continues with, “Obama’s no Socialist. But ask people who live in Socialist regions—they love the way things are!” Obama isn’t a Socialist? You have to be looking from the perspective of a fervent Communist to not call Obama a Socialist! If Obama’s ObamaCare and his demonization of corporations and wealthy individuals is not characteristic of Socialism or even Marxism, then what is? If Harrison wants America to shed its founding values and become Socialist, so be it. But he ought to be honest about such motivations and use terminology correctly. As for the latter part of Harrison’s statement—a government that is enjoyed is not an ideal one, and the maximization of pleasure is not a foundation of any respectable system of ethics. Of course people love Socialism—after all, who doesn’t, through vestiges of infantile desires, take great pleasure in benefitting from other people’s money? However, individual rights of ownership and Capitalism form the ethical and American system, which is unique in this world. You want the opposite kind of government? You can find it… anywhere else. Harrison and Obama should have moved to God-forsaken Cuba if they wanted to be Communists, rather than stay here and afflict us—in America, the country that was founded on the ideal of limited government and suspicion of taxation.
Thus Harrison implicitly says that whatever feels right or gives you the most satisfaction must be the ethical and proper thing to do. Very dangerous. When Harrison, poked fun of Ronald Reagan for calling the former Soviet Union just what is was, an “Evil Empire,” he further demonstrated his disrespect for American values. Live and let live, he must be thinking. But live and let live is a naïve slogan that allows unrecognized evil to run unabated. When Harrison sings the praises of moral relativism, he makes it seem as if there is no objective standard. How can Stalin’s literal murder millions of his own people be acknowledged nonchalantly? Anyone morally straight who has a half-decent knowledge of history knows of the sheer evils inflicted under the Soviet regime.
Harrison’s further disrespect for the traditional moral establishment is shown by his treatment of religion. He considers it worthless. When discussing The Night Porter, he readily related that the film was an accurate portrayal of concentration camps, what with the Stockholm Syndrome and moral depravity depicted in the film. He defends Cavani’s (the director) claim of, “I did my research and you didn’t.” He is utterly dismissive of Elie Wiesel’s critique and treats such a serious subject with disturbing levity. Elsewhere, in a particular story within the film adaptation of The Decameron, Harrison points out the man who, after his death, is recognized as a saint based solely on a self-report of his deeds. Harrison then protracts the message and says that the people we appoint as saints may not necessarily be good people. Well, Harrison doesn’t have any criteria for evaluating morality. For Harrison to espouse such views of his own accord is one thing. But consider their impact on his students. Many students – particularly those in the engineering field – had chosen Harrison’s Italian Cinema course because of its reputation as an easy GE, which indeed it was. But undergraduates in the engineering school are required to take (at maximum) six north campus courses over their entire degree program and during that student’s experience in GEs, he receives little more than leftist indoctrination. And since most college folks never encounter a single conservative argument on campus, the effect of leftist professors’ teaching is all the greater. If this were happening only in private universities it may be improper to interfere or even speak out, out of respect for the liberty of private businesses. But in our case, Californian taxpayers are funding the public universities’ practice of bashing American values.
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