Today's JG rant: Rude and intolerant behavior is the hallmark of the left.

RE: "Taylor Made" JG editorial of May 22,2019 

In a coordinated effort to damage PDJT’s campaign and then his presidency, Samantha Power allegedly unmasked nearly 300 American citizens whose names surfaced in connection with foreign intelligence documents. If true, Power’s move was a clear effort to create guilt by association.  Ironically, through her spokesperson and lawyer, Power has not denied the allegation but has indicated that “she has done nothing wrong” if the allegations are true. 

So in Power’s case callously and unprofessionally unmasking American citizens who “have done nothing wrong” is okay, because unnecessarily attempting to slander their character in order to get at PDJT is okay, because “she has done nothing wrong.”  The upcoming IG report is likely to take a somewhat harder view of the unnecessary unmasking of American citizens for political gain.

I mention this because Sam Power delivered the commencement speech at Indiana University on May 4^th.  As near as I could tell none of the IU students walked out before Power’s address. I suspect that there were a number who didn’t agree with her policies or those of the administration she served.  Still, they sat attentively and listened to Power’s talk which in part encouraged tolerance to opposing views.  The only time she strayed from what was a pretty even-handed speech is when she briefly genuflected to the leftist’s holy grail on climate change.  That subject apparently does NOT require the graduates to be tolerant of opposing views, because as we all know – “the debate is over.”  It’s not.

IU’s graduating class sat quietly through Power’s speech.  Meanwhile 20 crybaby snowflakes at Taylor University couldn’t sit through the Vice President’s speech and for their rude intolerant act are hailed as some kind of heroes.  They aren’t.  They are petty, small-minded and apparently so afraid of differing points of view that they have to seek a safe place and in process call more attention to themselves than to the overwhelming majority of their classmates.  Shame on them.

   

 Taylor-made

Some protests more effective than others

As protests go, the one at Taylor University Saturday was pretty mild. The administration at the nondenominational Christian school in Upland had worked with dissenting students and faculty to minimize disruption at its graduation ceremony.

On cue, at the beginning of a hymn, a group of 20 to 30 attendees walked out, WANE-TV reported. A few minutes later, Vice President Mike Pence received a warm welcome from the rest of the audience and delivered his commencement speech without incident. During another hymn, the protesters were able to quietly return and join their colleagues as the 300-plus members of the Class of 2019 received their diplomas.

Small and well-mannered though it was, the protest was newsworthy because it happened at a religious-based school in former Gov. Pence's home state and because some at Taylor believed the vice president's view of Christianity didn't reflect their own.

“Pence represents one part of Christianity, which has been in the spotlight in America the last couple of years,” Emily Russell, a recent Taylor graduate, told the Indianapolis Star before the visit. “But that is not the only side of Christianity, and there are enough Christians who feel that his policies do not reflect their values that they do not think this is an appropriate speaker for a university that's trying to not only be Christian but be inviting to Christians with varying experiences and opinions.”

One could argue Pence proved Russell's point in his speech. The vice president mixed dire warnings about religion being threatened in America – “it's become acceptable, even fashionable, to malign traditional Christian beliefs” – with a generous helping of re-election rhetoric.

He congratulated Taylor's seniors for having the “great timing” to graduate now, because “under the leadership of President Trump, we've been busy getting this economy moving again. We cut taxes. We rolled back regulation. We've unleashed American energy.”

Pence's talk wasn't exactly a stump speech, but it failed to acknowledge aspects of the Trump-Pence administration some Christians find offensive, such as separating immigrant families and abetting Saudi Arabia's brutal assault on Yemen. Nor did Pence acknowledge that it's possible to criticize his approach to religion without “attacking” Christianity.

But guess who wins the debates in these situations? Not the students who walk out, who made it look as though they're too closed-minded to listen to opinions they disagree with.

We prefer the response of University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins, who dared to invite pro-choice President Barack Obama to his Catholic school's graduation in 2009 and defended his decision to ask Pence to speak at the same event eight years later:

“We must speak the truth we know and challenge the injustice we see,” Jenkins said in 2017. “But we must also listen to those who disagree, care for the bonds that join us together and find ways to build a society where all can flourish – even the people who don't look like us, think like us or vote with us.”

In the end, the more effective protesters at Taylor last weekend would have been those who remained to listen to the vice president, but who registered their dismay at his presence through buttons adorned with a simple message: “We are Taylor, too.”