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∂CSL Stanford Daily∞

To the editor:

	There seems to be a law of conservation of aggressiveness.  In
the 1950s, the right was out to get various leftists on charges of
being allies of Stalin.  Today the left is out to get whole institutions,
e.g. Hoover, on charges of being allies of Reagan.

	Consider last Thursday's statement by 16 Stanford professors.
The idea that the University can legitimately disassociate itself
from "on-going embarassment" by "divorcing itself" from a part of itself
is reminiscent of my namesake Joe.  The current %2casus belli%1, two
Hoover faculty members taking part in a study that might reach conclusions
that offend the "gay community", is absurd.  Such fantasies can only
flourish in the intellectual equivalent of a backward village or a party
cell, where any hint of deviation from orthodox views is regarded as a
sin.

	I suppose the danger of their getting people fired is remote, but
it's worth remembering Voltaire's saying, "Those who can make you believe
absurdities can make you commit atrocities".

.sgn
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