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<p class="seo-highlighter">This is a letter signed by among many:
Noam Chomsky, Margaret Attwood and surprisingly for me, David
Frum.<br>
</p>
<p class="seo-highlighter">Especially when it come to official
pronouncements of the medical and political community there seems
to be anger for those who hold opinions that are not part of the
official consensus. <br>
</p>
<p class="seo-highlighter">To test this thesis my next email to the
group will be from a Nobel prize winner expressing a view that
seems to be a political heresy.<br>
</p>
<p class="seo-highlighter">Art<br>
</p>
<h1 class="seo-highlighter">A Letter on Justice and Open Debate</h1>
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<p><strong>July 7, 2020</strong><br>
<em>The below letter will be appearing in the Letters section of
the magazine’s October issue. We welcome responses at
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:letters@harpers.org">letters@harpers.org</a></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.5em;">Our cultural institutions are
facing a moment of trial. Powerful protests for racial and
social justice are leading to overdue demands for police reform,
along with wider calls for greater equality and inclusion across
our society, not least in higher education, journalism,
philanthropy, and the arts. But this needed reckoning has also
intensified a new set of moral attitudes and political
commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and
toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity. As
we applaud the first development, we also raise our voices
against the second. The forces of illiberalism are gaining
strength throughout the world and have a powerful ally in Donald
Trump, who represents a real threat to democracy. But resistance
must not be allowed to harden into its own brand of dogma or
coercion—which right-wing demagogues are already exploiting. The
democratic inclusion we want can be achieved only if we speak
out against the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.5em;">The free exchange of information
and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming
more constricted. While we have come to expect this on the
radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in
our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for
public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve
complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty. We uphold
the value of robust and even caustic counter-speech from all
quarters. But it is now all too common to hear calls for swift
and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions
of speech and thought. More troubling still, institutional
leaders, in a spirit of panicked damage control, are delivering
hasty and disproportionate punishments instead of considered
reforms. Editors are fired for running controversial pieces;
books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are
barred from writing on certain topics; professors are
investigated for quoting works of literature in class; a
researcher is fired for circulating a peer-reviewed academic
study; and the heads of organizations are ousted for what are
sometimes just clumsy mistakes. Whatever the arguments around
each particular incident, the result has been to steadily narrow
the boundaries of what can be said without the threat of
reprisal. We are already paying the price in greater risk
aversion among writers, artists, and journalists who fear for
their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even
lack sufficient zeal in agreement.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.5em;">This stifling atmosphere will
ultimately harm the most vital causes of our time. The
restriction of debate, whether by a repressive government or an
intolerant society, invariably hurts those who lack power and
makes everyone less capable of democratic participation. The way
to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion,
not by trying to silence or wish them away. We refuse any false
choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without
each other. As writers we need a culture that leaves us room for
experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes. We need to
preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire
professional consequences. If we won’t defend the very thing on
which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the
state to defend it for us.</span></p>
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="border-spacing: 10; vspace: 5;" valign="top">
<td style="padding: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 1.5em;"><strong>Elliot
Ackerman</strong><br>
<strong>Saladin Ambar</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Rutgers University</span><br>
<strong>Martin Amis</strong><br>
<strong>Anne Applebaum</strong><br>
<strong>Marie Arana</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>Margaret Atwood</strong><br>
<strong>John Banville</strong><br>
<strong>Mia Bay</strong>, <span style="font-size: .8em;">historian</span><br>
<strong>Louis Begley</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Roger Berkowitz</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Bard College</span><br>
<strong>Paul Berman</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Sheri Berman</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Barnard College</span><br>
<strong>Reginald Dwayne Betts</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">poet</span><br>
<strong>Neil Blair</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">agent</span><br>
<strong>David W. Blight</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Yale University</span><br>
<strong>Jennifer Finney Boylan</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>David Bromwich</strong><br>
<strong>David Brooks</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">columnist</span><br>
<strong>Ian Buruma</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Bard College</span><br>
<strong>Lea Carpenter</strong><br>
<strong>Noam Chomsky</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">MIT (emeritus)</span><br>
<strong>Nicholas A. Christakis</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Yale University</span><br>
<strong>Roger Cohen</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Ambassador Frances D. Cook</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">ret.</span><br>
<strong>Drucilla Cornell</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Founder, uBuntu Project</span><br>
<strong>Kamel Daoud</strong><br>
<strong>Meghan Daum</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Gerald Early</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Washington University-St. Louis</span><br>
<strong>Jeffrey Eugenides</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Dexter Filkins</strong><br>
<strong>Federico Finchelstein</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">The New School</span><br>
<strong>Caitlin Flanagan</strong><br>
<strong>Richard T. Ford</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Stanford Law School</span><br>
<strong>Kmele Foster</strong><br>
<strong>David Frum</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist</span><br>
<strong>Francis Fukuyama</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Stanford University</span><br>
<strong>Atul Gawande</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Harvard University</span><br>
<strong>Todd Gitlin</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Columbia University</span><br>
<strong>Kim Ghattas</strong><br>
<strong>Malcolm Gladwell</strong><br>
<strong>Michelle Goldberg</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">columnist</span><br>
<strong>Rebecca Goldstein</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Anthony Grafton</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Princeton University</span><br>
<strong>David Greenberg</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Rutgers University</span><br>
<strong>Linda Greenhouse</strong><br>
<strong>Rinne B. Groff</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">playwright</span><br>
<strong>Sarah Haider</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">activist</span><br>
<strong>Jonathan Haidt</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">NYU-Stern</span><br>
<strong>Roya Hakakian</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Shadi Hamid</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Brookings Institution</span><br>
<strong>Jeet Heer</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">The Nation</span><br>
<strong>Katie Herzog</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">podcast host</span><br>
<strong>Susannah Heschel</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Dartmouth College</span><br>
<strong>Adam Hochschild</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>Arlie Russell Hochschild</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>Eva Hoffman</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Coleman Hughes</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer/Manhattan Institute</span><br>
<strong>Hussein Ibish</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Arab Gulf States Institute</span><br>
<strong>Michael Ignatieff</strong><br>
<strong>Zaid Jilani</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist</span><br>
<strong>Bill T. Jones</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">New York Live Arts</span><br>
<strong>Wendy Kaminer</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Matthew Karp</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Princeton University</span><br>
<strong>Garry Kasparov</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Renew Democracy Initiative</span><br>
<strong>Daniel Kehlmann</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Randall Kennedy</strong><br>
<strong>Khaled Khalifa</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Parag Khanna</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>Laura Kipnis</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Northwestern University</span><br>
<strong>Frances Kissling</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Center for Health, Ethics,
Social Policy</span><br>
<strong>Enrique Krauze</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">historian</span><br>
<strong>Anthony Kronman</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Yale University</span><br>
<strong>Joy Ladin</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Yeshiva University</span><br>
<strong>Nicholas Lemann</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Columbia University</span><br>
<strong>Mark Lilla</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Columbia University</span><br>
<strong>Susie Linfield</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">New York University</span><br>
<strong>Damon Linker</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Dahlia Lithwick</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Slate<br>
</span><strong>Steven Lukes</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">New York University</span><br>
<strong>John R. MacArthur</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">publisher, writer</span><br>
</span></td>
<td style="padding: 10px; width: 50.4296%;"><span
style="font-size: 1.5em;"><strong>Susan Madrak</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><strong><br>
Phoebe Maltz Bovy</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Greil Marcus</strong><br>
<strong>Wynton Marsalis</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Jazz at Lincoln Center</span><br>
<strong>Kati Marton</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">author</span><br>
<strong>Debra Mashek</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">scholar</span><br>
<strong>Deirdre McCloskey</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">University of Illinois at
Chicago</span><br>
<strong>John McWhorter</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Columbia University</span><br>
<strong>Uday Mehta</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">City University of New York</span><br>
<strong>Andrew Moravcsik</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Princeton University</span><br>
<strong>Yascha Mounk</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Persuasion</span><br>
</span><span style="font-size: 1.5em;"><strong>Samuel Moyn</strong>,
<span style="font-size: .8em;">Yale University</span><br>
</span><span style="font-size: 1.5em;"><strong>Meera Nanda</strong>,
<span style="font-size: .8em;">writer and teacher</span><br>
<strong>Cary Nelson</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</span><br>
<strong>Olivia Nuzzi</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">New York Magazine</span><br>
<strong>Mark Oppenheimer</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Yale University</span><br>
<strong>Dael Orlandersmith</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer/performer</span><br>
<strong>George Packer</strong><br>
<strong>Nell Irvin Painter</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Princeton University (emerita)</span><br>
<strong>Greg Pardlo</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Rutgers University – Camden</span><br>
<strong>Orlando Patterson</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Harvard University</span><br>
<strong>Steven Pinker</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Harvard University</span><strong><br>
Letty Cottin Pogrebin<br>
Katha Pollitt</strong>, <span style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Claire Bond Potter</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">The New School</span><br>
<strong>Taufiq Rahim</strong><br>
<strong>Zia Haider Rahman</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">University of Wisconsin</span><br>
<strong>Jonathan Rauch</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Brookings Institution/The Atlantic</span><br>
<strong>Neil Roberts</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">political theorist</span><br>
<strong>Melvin Rogers</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Brown University</span><br>
<strong>Kat Rosenfield</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Loretta J. Ross</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Smith College</span><br>
<strong>J.K. Rowling</strong><br>
<strong>Salman Rushdie</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">New York University</span><br>
<strong>Karim Sadjadpour</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Carnegie Endowment</span><br>
<strong>Daryl Michael Scott</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Howard University</span><br>
<strong>Diana Senechal</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">teacher and writer</span><br>
<strong>Jennifer Senior</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">columnist</span><br>
<strong>Judith Shulevitz</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Jesse Singal</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist</span><br>
<strong>Anne-Marie Slaughter</strong><br>
<strong>Andrew Solomon</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Deborah Solomon</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">critic and biographer</span><br>
<strong>Allison Stanger</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Middlebury College</span><br>
<strong>Paul Starr</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">American Prospect/Princeton University</span><br>
<strong>Wendell Steavenson</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Gloria Steinem</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">writer and activist</span><br>
<strong>Nadine Strossen</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">New York Law School</span><br>
<strong>Ronald S. Sullivan Jr.</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">Harvard Law School</span><br>
<strong>Kian Tajbakhsh</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Columbia University</span><br>
<strong>Zephyr Teachout</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Fordham University</span><br>
<strong>Cynthia Tucker</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">University of South Alabama</span><br>
<strong>Adaner Usmani</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Harvard University</span><br>
<strong>Chloe Valdary</strong><br>
<strong>Helen Vendler</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Harvard University</span><br>
<strong>Judy B. Walzer</strong><br>
<strong>Michael Walzer</strong><br>
<strong>Eric K. Washington</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">historian</span><br>
<strong>Caroline Weber</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">historian</span><br>
<strong>Randi Weingarten</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">American Federation of Teachers</span><br>
<strong>Bari Weiss</strong><br>
<strong>Sean Wilentz</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">Princeton University</span><br>
<strong>Garry Wills</strong><br>
<strong>Thomas Chatterton Williams</strong>, <span
style="font-size: .8em;">writer</span><br>
<strong>Robert F. Worth</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist and author</span><br>
<strong>Molly Worthen</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</span><br>
<strong>Matthew Yglesias</strong><br>
<strong>Emily Yoffe</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist</span><br>
<strong>Cathy Young</strong>, <span style="font-size:
.8em;">journalist</span><br>
<strong>Fareed Zakaria</strong></span></td>
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