To the editor:

The January 21 Tryon Daily Bulletin contains a letter from a lady commenting on David Kendall’s apparently ill considered remarks suggesting self-censorship. The lady and I are in substantial agreement on the importance of freedom of expression. I would further suggest that Mr. Kendal–who is not in the phone book–adopt my practice of waiting to send a letter till the next day.

The lady, however, seems to imply that people who disagree with her — Neo-Liberals/so-called Progressives — have totalitarian tendencies with a strong desire to shut down debate.

In the October 2006 issue of the American Psychologist, the official journal of the American Psychological Association, a 20-plus page fact-packed article comes to a conclusion — among others – that, “…much evidence upholds the Adorno et al (1950) rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis and contradicts persistent claims that liberals and conservatives are equally rigid and dogmatic” (p. 662).

In addition to some of the interesting comments on telling the difference between the dorm rooms of a conservative and liberal (p. 665), and reference to a longitudinal study that suggests that personality differences between liberals and conservatives may begin early in childhood (p. 664), the article concludes (p. 667) that, “There is reason to assume that human beings have required and will continue to require the characteristics that are associated with the political left as well as the political right. We need tradition, order, structure, closure, discipline, and conscientiousness, to be sure, but if the human race is to continue to survive new challenges, we will just as surely need creativity, curiosity, tolerance, diversity, and open-mindedness.”

Bill Holcomb
Tryon

Editor’s Note: “Oh, wad some power” is the last line of Robert Burns’ poem “To A Louse:” Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us/To see oursels as ithers see us!