Yale Daily News

"Are we Yalies equipped to argue for freedom and liberty against the claims of dogmatism and tyranny?"

"Allow me a hypothetical. How would you dispute with a real enemy of liberal democracy confronting you?"

Dear boy, so filled with youthful idealism! How do Yalies react? Well, by gum, just trot on over to any of the Zeta Psi forums and view for yourself both a tyrannous and dogmatic assault (the bow-shot "premeditated hate speech" should chill your very bowels) and its (non-)response.

You cry about Qassams; missiles are being lobbed at your very Constitutional rights!

Okay, big boy: put your money where your mouth is and stand with the likes of Voltaire and defend your unfettered right to speech.

I look forward to your future activism.

Just an old alumnus

I'm not really sure what you are trying to say here. Your first paragraph was actually the best - factual and to the point. Then you fell into the "I'm trying to sound intellectual" mode. How long were you in Sderot? What did you do besides interview the Mayor? Did you do anything to help the people there? Did you teach English to any of the kids? Did you bring meals to people who can't leave their apartments? As we say here - in Israel - 'tachlis!' - do what counts! That's what Dr. King would tell you to do!

By the way, I used to live in New Haven - right before I came on Aliyah. My husband - now ex-husband - was friends with Danny Greer whom I'm sure you've heard of.

Liberal democracy is no more rooted in what you call the "Western canon" than the terrorism of Hamas is rooted in Islamic dogmatism. Indeed, it was the rejection of the stalest of the Christian dogmas of the Middle Ages (papal infallibility, anyone?) that led to the Renaissance and with it the birth of the intellectual currents that got us to the Panglossian state we now enjoy.