<p>
NOW you are really in college. Good job. Enjoy it.</p>
<p>Duerre,</p>
<p>Just remember that you do not NEED to justify any of your views. You are entitled to hold any view you want (although we can all imagine views so repugnant that they would be hard for others to accept!). Others may not agree with you, and it can be fascinating to find out why you disagree. But you must approach this from a point of view of understanding and respect for those who hold differing views, too. </p>
<p>Almost four years ago, I had a fascinating time learning what other people thought about the presidential candidates and why. It was interesting how, when first asked, most folks were quite defensive, because they expected a debate. When they found out I was silent on my view and just genuinely curious, it was fascinating to watch them open up. And I learned a great deal. </p>
<p>Try that with some of your foes. I doubt it will be threatening to your views, so it is not risky per se. But you may find, as I have, that I had much more in common with folks who I thought had radically different views than I ever imagined. </p>
<p>Good luck, have fun and learn.</p>
<p>There are some interesting points on this thread, but I am still trying to process an OP that claims "keeping my mouth shut is not a strong suit!" in post #1 and "I'm also shy" in post #19. Also one who titles a thread "Lefty Academics" and sounds like Barack Obama (post #80) a day later. </p>
<p>Though I do know that college students can have identity issues. . .</p>
<p>Mutual respect is the key. I've met my fair share of wackos, on both sides. Never, though, have I had a political discussion that didn't end with a sense of enrichment.</p>
<p>"Assuming this is true, why do you think things have turned out this way? Why is it that the Ivy League and the top LACS are all left-leaning, but when conservatives create and run a college it often ends up resembling Bob Jones? </p>
<p>It's a free country out there. No law says that a great college must be politically and socially liberal (although **some would argue that strict and intolerant conservative thought and scholarly free enquiry are mutually antithetical). **Rather than bemoaning the abundance of liberal thought at the current high-end schools, conservatives should found and build their own high-end schools. But for some reason they keep coming up with Bible schools."</p>
<p>Your thesis seems to be that an intellectual school would naturally be liberal (especially the part I bolded.)</p>
<p>I read that before WWII Harvard and the other top ivies were conservative. Also, there was a mock presidential election at MIT in 2000, and McCain won it. So not every random group of intellectual people will spontaneous form a liberal majority. </p>
<p>Anyway, it doesn't sound like the OP would want to go to a place like Bob Jones either. Very few people would. What it sounds like is that the OP would like to go to a place where political science is studied and debated with a measure of intellectual rigor instead of having political agendas shoved down his or her throat. Now, no one knows for sure whether the OP is just uncomfortable with people with different views, but it sounds like the disappointment in the LAC stems from a lack of the Socratic method. If that is the case, then it's unfortunate.</p>