Ground Rules

In October of 1997, Donald Lazere wrote an article called "Ground Rules for Polemicists: The Case of lynne Cheney's Truths." This article introduced a set of nine rules or standards in which Lazere came up with to evaluate the works of oponents in the media and writing world.

In this article, Lazere, of the left (liberal) persuasion, analyzed comments and writing of Lynne Cheney, who is a righty (conservative). I can understand how members from opposite sides can critisize each other, as was done in Lazere's piece. The purpose of my research paper will be to take Lazere's nine ground rules and apply them to a piece that Lazere wrote himself. I can be considered "on the fence" when it comes to lefties and righties, and, if anything, I lean a little to the left. Find out where you stand by clicking here. Having that in mind, I should be free of bias when judging the work of Lazere.

The article I chose is called "The Contradictions of Cultural Conservatism in the Assult on American Colleges." Lazere wrote this article in July of 2004, after he came up with the ground rules. This article was written in response to the Academic Bill of Rights Resolution, modled by a righty named David Horowitz. This called for colleges to promote more academic freedom and steering away from as Horowitz claims; "totally dominated by the left."

It will be interesting to see if Horowitz remembers his previous set of ground rules and takes them into consideration, or if he takes on the role of a hippocrit.