Excellent conversation between Bill Kristol and Professor Robert P. George of Princeton. I was particularly interested, near the middle of the conversation, about George's gradual transition from Democrat to Republican (in retrospect, he thinks he was more of a conservative Democrat), and also his collaboration with Cornel West, his Princeton colleague, but himself a liberal, in graduate seminars. Both academics reject the recent trend on college campuses to create "safe spaces" or "trigger warnings." I like how West describes the collaboration: "There are no safe spaces in our seminars."
I fear for this next generation (my brother's kids), and the current batch, the so-called millennials (my kids, my older nieces and nephews). The pressure to conform, to put up and shut up or be bullied into silence, keeps them in a bubble or cocoon, safe within their tribes. The challenge presented here, to allow cherished ideals to be challenged, scrutinized, is crucial to the health and future of a free society.
Conversations with Bill Kristol
Description: The McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and founding director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, Robert George is one of the nation’s most distinguished students of legal and moral thought. In this conversation with William Kristol, George discusses the state of American conservatism as well as the condition of freedom of speech and thought on university campuses. He also details the development of his own political and moral views, including his interest in the natural law tradition in moral philosophy. Finally, Kristol and George discuss the importance of social conservatism in our public policy debates today.
Segments
Chapter 1 Conservatism and the University
Chapter 2 Growing Up in Appalachia
Chapter 3What is Natural Law?
Chapter 4 Why We Need Social Conservatism
